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AMEKICAN   SPIDEKS 


THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


-e- 


A  NATURAL  HISTORY 


ORBWEAVING  SPIDERS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


WITH   SPECIAL  REGARD  TO  THEIR  INDUSTRY  AND  HABITS. 


BY 

HEKRY  O.  McOOOK,  D.  D., 

Vice-Presidekt  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  S<:ience.s  of  Philadelphia; 

Vice>-Pkesident  op  the  American  Entomological  Society  ;  *■ 

AuTrfOR  OF  "The  Agricultural  Ants  of  Texas," 

"  The  Honey  and  CXx?ident  Ants," 

etc.,  etc. 


VOL.   II 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  AUTHOR, 

Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

A.  D.  1890. 


THE  PRKSS  OF 

ALLEN,  LANE  &  SCOTT, 

PHILADELPHIA. 


PREFACE. 


With  the  completion  of  the  second  volume  of  "American  Spiders  and 
their  Spinningwork,"  I  feel  that  I  have  substantially  ended  the  task  which 
many  years  ago  I  proposed  to  myself.  That  task,  as  it  lay  in  my  pur- 
pose, was  the  description  and  illustration,  in  as  large  detail  as  possible,  of 
the  spinning  industry  and  general  habits  of  true  spiders. 

Subsequently,  as  announced  in  the  first  volume  of  this  work,  my  plan 
was  so  far  modified  as  to  make  the  spinningwork  and  habits  of  Orbweav- 
ers  the  principal  theme,  and  to  group  around  the  same  the  industries  of 
other  spiders  in  such  relations  and  proportions  as  seemed  practicable.  In 
the  present  volume  I  have  adhered  to  this  modified  plan,  but  less  closely 
than  in  the  preceding  one,  having  made  large  use  of  the  natural  history 
of  other  tribes  than  the  Orbitelarise. 

It  is  probable  that  this  volume  will  be  more  interesting  than  Volume  I. 
both  to  the  scientific  and  general  public.  It  takes  up  the  life  history  of 
spiders,  and  follows  them  literally  from  birth  to  death,  from  the  cradle  to 
the  grave;  more  than  that,  it  goes  beyond  the  sphere  of  existing  faunal 
life  into  the  geologic  periods,  and  touches  upon  the  history  and  destiny  of 
ancestral  araneads  who  lived  in  the  strange  surroundings  of  prehistoric 
continents,  the  sites  of  which  are  embosomed  in  the  rocks,  or,  like  the 
amber  forests,  are  now  beneath  the  ocean.  The  courtship  and  mating  of 
these  solitary  creatures ;  their  maternal  skill,  devotion,  and  self  sacrifice ; 
their  cocoon  life  and  babyhood ;  their  youth  and  old  age ;  their  means  of 
communion  with  the  world  around  them ;  their  voyages  through  the  air 
and  dens  in  the  ground ;  their  allies  and  enemies ;  their  fashion  of  death 
and  its  strange  disguises — these  and  other  facts  I  have  tried  to  bring  be- 
fore thie  reader  in  the  following  pages. 

Moreover,   my  studies  have  necessarily  brought  me  face  to  face  with 

many  of   the   interesting   problems,    theories,    and   speculations   of   modern 

science.     I  have  had  no  pet  theory  to  approve  or  oppose,  and  have  not 

(3) 


PREFACE. 


sought  to  marshal  the  facts  in  hand  for  or  against  this  or  that  philoso- 
phy of  life  and  its  origin.  Indeed,  my  aim  has  been  to  write  a  natural 
history,  and  not  a  philosophy  thereof.  Yet  I  have  here  and  there  alluded 
to  matters  with  which  current  thinking  has  much  to  do.  This  fact  may 
also  tend  to  make  this  volume  more  generally  interesting  than  the  preced- 
ing or  succeeding  one. 

I  have  not  found  the  difficulties  of  my  task  lessened,  but  rather  in- 
creased in  treating  these  features  of  the  history.  Spiders  are  solitary  and 
secretive  at  the  best,  and  these  characteristics  have  reached  their  highest 
expression  in  those  acts — cocooning,  for  example — with  which  a  large  part 
of  Volume  II.'  is  concerned.  It  has  thus  been  unusually  difficult  to  secure 
a  continuous  authentic  record  of  habits.  Then,  again,  these  studies  have 
necessarily  been  only  the  recreations  of  a  busy  professional  life,  whose  en- 
gagements have  rapidly  multiplied,  and  been  more  onerous  and  exacting 
in  the  last  six  years  than  ever  before.  These  off  labors  have,  therefore, 
continually  receded  or  been  suspended  before  the  pressing  and  more  se- 
rious obligations  of  duty.  Nevertheless,  I  am  glad  to  have  done  so  much, 
and  have  great  satisfaction  in  the  hope  that  others,  stimulated  by  ray 
labors,  may  pass  on  through  the  vestibule  where  I  must  stop,  and  explore 
the  vast  temple  of  aranead  lore  that  lies  beyond. 

I  have  spoken  of  my  task  as  substantially  completed.  I  do  not  forget 
that  the  Third  Volume  yet  remains  to  be  finished,  and  that  it  is  the  most 
costly  and,  in  some  respects,  the  most  difficult  of  all.  But  much  of  the 
work  thereon  is  already  done,  and  I  feel  justified  in  finishing  it  in  a  more 
leisurely  way.  That  volume,  with  the  exception  of  two  chapters,  will  be 
devoted  to  species  work,  and  will  present,  as  far  as  it  seems  to  me  neces- 
sary for  identification,  descriptions  of  the  Orb  weaving  fauna  of  the  United 
States.  These  will  be  illustrated  by  a  number  of  lithographic  plates, 
drawn  in  the  best  style  of  art  and  colored  by  hand  from  Nature.  Plate 
IV.  of  the  five  colored  plates  in  the  present  volume  will  best  illustrate 
the  character  of  those  which  are  to  follow.  To  the  above  I  will  add  some 
species  of  other  tribes  whose  habits  have  had  especial  notice  in  this  work. 

I  have  now  said  all  that  I  expect  to  make  public  of  my  observations 
of  spider  manners,  with  the  exception  of  one  chapter  on  General  Habits, 
which  I  have  reserved  for  the  opening  pages  of  Volume  III.,  and,  per- 
haps, a  second  chapter,  which  may  be  necessary  for  the  explanation  and 
enlargement  of  matters  to  which  attention  may  be  called  by  those  who 
have  followed  me  in  the  preceding  studies. 


PREFACE.  5 

In  these  opening  chapters  of  Volume  III.  I  shall  consider  the  toilet 
habits,  manner  of  drinking,  methods  of  burrowing,  moulting  and  its  con- 
sequences, prognostication  of  the  weather,  some  of  the  superstitions  associ- 
ated with  spiders,  spider  silk  and  its  commercial  value,  and  some  other 
points  in  the  natural  history  of  spiders  not  embraced  in  the  preceding 
volumes. 

I  again  make  my  thankful  acknowledgments  of  the  assistance  cordially 
given  me  by  various  friends  and  fellow  laborers.  Dr.  George  Marx,  of 
Washington,  has  been  especially  helpful  by  generously  placing  at  my  dis- 
posal his  entire  collection  of  spider  cocoons,  and  also  by  notes  upon  the 
habits  of  some  of  the  species  whose  life  histqry  I  have  described.  To  Prof. 
Samuel  H.  Scudder  I  am  indebted  for  various  references  and  hints  in  pre- 
paring the  chapter  on  Fossil  Spiders,  and  for  the  use  of  his  own  publi- 
cations. Mrs.  Mary  Treat  and  Mrs.  Rosa  Smith  Eigenmann  have  both 
helped  me  with  valuable  material  sent  by  the  one  from  the  Atlantic  coast, 

by  the  other  from  the  Pacific. 

H.  C.  McC. 
The  Manse, 
Philadelphia,  July  3d,  1890. 


TABLE   OF   OONTEISTTS  OF  YOLUME    II. 


PART  I.— COURTSHIP  AND  MATING  OF  SPIDERS. 

CHAPTER  I. 
WOOING   AND    MATING   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 

PAGES 

The  Mystery  of  Mating — The  Male  searching  for  his  Mate — Males  relatively  Fewer — 
Males  before  Mating — Argioj^e  cophinaria — Stages  of  Courtship — Aranead  Lovers — A 
Lover's  Peril — Relative  Sizes  of  Sexes — An  unequally  matched  Couple — Nephila 
and  Argiope — Sexes  that  live  together — The  AVater  Spider— Quarrels  of  Males — Fe- 
male Combativeness — Methods  of  Pairing  among  Orbweavers — A  Love  Bower  .    .  15-40 

CHAPTER  11. 

COURTSHIP   AND   PAIRING   OF   THE    TRIBES. 

Love  Dances  of  Saltigrades — Pairing  of  Linyphia  marginata — The  Period  of  Union — In- 
terruptions— Agalena  naevia  pairing — Love  beneath  the  Waters — Caressing — Pairing 
of  Laterigrades — Lycosids — Love  Dances  of  the  Saltigrades — Love  Dances  of  Birds — 
Displays  are  to  attract  Females — A  Saltigrade  Harem — Color  Development  ....  41-60 

CHAPTER  III. 
COMPARATIVE    VIEWS   OF    VARIOUS   MATING   HABITS. 

Value  of  general  Habits — Value  of  spinning  Habit — Maternity  inspires  Insect  Archi- 
tecture— Spider  Industry  influenced  by  Maternity — By  sexual  Feeling  in  Males — 
Disproportion  of  Size  in  Sexes — Sexes  of  equal  Sizes — Numerical  Proportion  of 
Sexes — Relative  Activity  of  Sexes — Spermatozoa — Agamic  Reproduction 61-74 


PART  II.— MATERNAL  INDUSTRY  AND  INSTINCTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 

Cocooning  Sites — Argiope's  Cocoons — Leafy  Canopies — Contents  of  Cocoons — The  Egg 
Mass — Argiope  cophinaria — Epeira  Cocoons — Cocooning  Tents — Cocoons  of  Zilla — 
Cocoon  of  Nephila — Gasteracantha — Spiders  with  several  Cocoons — Tetragnatha 
extensa — Cyrtarachne's  Cocoon — The  Cocoon  String  of  Labyrinthea — Cyclosa  bi- 
furca — Basilica  Spider's  Cocoon — Plumefoot  Spider's  Cocoon — Uloborus — Double  Co- 
cooning in  Argiope 75-110 

(7) 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 
GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 

PAGES 

Cocoons  of  Theridium — Argyrodes  trigonum — Cocoons  of  Ero — Theridium  frondeum  or 
Theridiosoma  radiosum? — Cocoons  in  Nests — Carrying  Cocoons  in  Jaws — Pholcus — 
Upholstered  Cocoon  of  Agalena — Medicinal  Spider — The  Water  Spider's  Cocoon — 
The  Parson  Spider — Brooding  Cocoons — Mud  plastered  Cocoons — Cocooning  Nest  of 
an  English  Drassid— Cocoons  in  Tubes — Segestria  canities  and  her  Cocoons — Dic- 
tyna  philoteichous — Cocoons  of  the  Territelarise — Trapdoor  Spiders — Cocoon  of  the 
Tarantula — Lycosa  carrying  her  Cocoon — The  Leaf  thatched  Cocoon  Nest  of  Dolo- 
medes — Pucetia  aurora — Nesting  Cocoons  of  Saltigrades — Cocoons  of  Laterigrades — 
The  Huntsman  Spider  and  her  Egg  Cradle — Cave  Spiders — Origin  of  Cave  Fauna — 
Effects  of  Cave  Life 111-158 

CHAPTER  VI. 

COMPARATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRY. 

How  Argiope  weaves  her  Cocoon — Use  of  the  Legs  in  Spinning — EquaUzing  the  Output 
of  Thread — Epeira's  Method — Weaving  a  Cocoon — Theridium — Agalena  nsevia — 
Beating  down  the  Thread — General  Spinning  Method — Composition  of  Cocoons — 
How  Cocoons  are  disposed  of — Protection  of  Cocoons — Cocoon  Forms — Variety  and 
Complexity — Number  of  Cocoons 159-177 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MATERNAL   INSTINCTS  :    MOTHERHOOD. 

Cocoon  Sites — Feeding  Limits— Secreting  Cocoons — Night  Cocooning — Ovipositing — Cali- 
fornia Trapdoor  Spider's  Eggs — Shape  of  Cocoon — Maternity  and  Cocoon  Structure — 
Complexity  and  Maternal  Care — Cocoon  Vigils — Multifold  Cocooning — Number  of 
Eggs — Fertility  and  Exposure — The  Mother  Turret  Spider — The  Watch  of  Dolo- 
medes — British  Spiders — Special  Cases  of  Mother  Care — Feeding  the  Young — Per- 
sonal Care  of  Young — The  Spiderlings — Strength  of  Maternal  Feeling — Mistakes  of 
Mothers — Unintelligent  Instinct — Intuitive  Skill — Marks  of  Forethought — The  Mud 
Cradle  Maker — Man's  Method  and  the  Spider's 178-205 


PART  III.— EARLY  LIFE  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SPECIES. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

COCOON   LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD. 

Adult  and  Young — Period  of  Hatching — First  Moult — Cocoon  Cannibalism — Escape  from 
the  Cocoon — Delivery  by  Birds — By  Mother  Aid — First  Days  of  Outdoor  Life — Gre- 
g^irious  Habit — Movement  Upward — A  Tented  Colony — Dispersions — The  Children 
of  the  Spider  Web — Mortality  among  Spiderlings— Assembly  of  Spiderlings— Bridge 
and  Tent  Making — A  Cantonment  and  Tower — Argiope  aurelia  and  her  Young — 
Spider  Communities — Spider  Colonies— Darwin's  View  Examined — Accidental  As- 
semblage— Squatter  Sovereignty — A  Cellar  Colony — A  Camp  of  Juveniles — Young 
Water  Spiders — The  Spiderlings  Pick-a-back— The  Turret  Spider's  Young — A  young 
Tower  Builder — Follow  the  Leader — The  Young  of  Atypus — Nurture  in  the  Nest — 
Young  Tarantulas — Young  Trapdoor  Builders — Nest  Development — Marvels  of  In- 
stinct—Dew covered  Webs — Character  Habits  Innate 206-255 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING    HABIT. 

PAGES 

Flying  Spiders — Velocity  of  Flight — Attitude  of  the  Aeronautic  Spider — Frolicsome  Spi- 
derlings — In  the  Air — Controlling  the  Descent — The  Height  of  Ascents — Floating 
Gossamer — Aeronautic  Orbweavers — Flossy  Balloons — Modes  of  Ballooning— Aerial 
Navigation — The  Huntsman  Spider — Around  the  World  by  the  Trade  Winds — Spi- 
ders at  Sea — Distribution  of  Species— Gossamer  Showers — Their  Origin — Dr.  Jona- 
than Edwards — His  boyish  Studies  of  Spider  Life — Professor  Silliman's  Tribute  .  256-282 


PART  IV.— SENSES  OF   SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  RELATIONS 

TO   HABIT. 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   SENSES   OF   SPIDERS,    AND   THEIR   ORGANS. 

Spider's  Eyes — Ocellus— Structure  of  Eyes — Orbs  made  in  the  Dark — Cocooning  in  the 
Dark— Sighting  Prey — Night  Habits — Color  of  Eyes — Night  Eyes  and  Day  Eyes — 
Atrophy  of  Ej^es— Cave  Fauna — Sensitive  to  Light— Limited  Vision — Good  Sight  in 
Saltigrades —Lubbock's  Experiments — Eye  Turrets— Eye  Tubercles — Sense  of  Smell — 
The  Peckhams'  Experiments — Olfactory  Organs — Sense  of  Hearing— Organs  of  Hear- 
ing— Effects  of  Sound — A  Disgusted  Spider— Communication  by  Touch — Sensitive- 
ness to  Music — Attracted  by  a  Lute — The  Violin — Beethoven  and  the  Spider — A 
Natural  Explanation  -Auditory  Hairs — Wagner's  Studies — Are  Spiders  Mute? — A 
Male  Love  Call — Stridulating  Crustaceans — Scorpions— Westring's  Discoveries — Strid- 
ulating  Theridioids — How  Sounds  are  Made — Mygale  stridulans — Uses  of  Stridula- 
tion— Mute  Mygale— How  Tarantula  Strikes 283-322 

CHAPTER  XL 

COLOR   AND    THE    COLOR   SENSE. 

Facts  of  Spider  Colors — Beautiful  Spiders — Attoid  Jewels — Metallic  Hues— Colors  of  the 
Shamrock  Spider — Color  Development  in  Young — Color  and  Sex — Moulting  Influ- 
ences— Colors  of  Age — Effects  of  Muscular  Action — Influence  of  Sex — Color  Con- 
sciousness— Climatic  Influences — Influence  of  Environment — Mimetic  Harmonies- 
Color  of  Cave  Spiders — Bleached  by  Sunlight — Color  Utility — Industrial  Compensa- 
tions— Warning  Colors — Unconscious  of  Danger — Color  Consciousness — Color  Sense 
of  Spiders — Spiders  prefer  Red — Mimicry  and  Colors — Cocoon  Colors — Prevailing 
Spider  Colors— Color  of  Silk— Metallic  Hues— Color  Scales 323-351 


PART  v.— HOSTILE  AGENTS :  THEIR  INFLUENCE. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS. 

Industrial  Mimicry — Cutting  Ants — Mimetic  Trapdoors — Self  Protection — Trapdoor 
Architecture — Moggridge  and  his  Trapdoor  Spiders — Tree  Trapdoors — Form  Mimi- 
cry of  Animals — Ant  like  Spiders — Value  of  slight  Variation — Darwin's  Theory — 
Sight   of  Birds — Birds   eating  Ants — English   Game   Birds  at  Linton   Park — The 


10  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


PAGES 

Great  Ant  Thrush — Raiding  the  Driver  Ants — Are  Wasps  Mimicked? — Ants  eat 
Spiders — Form  Mimicry  of  Environment — Tetragnatlia  extensa — Mimicking  Knots 
and  Buds — Color  Mimicry — Ambusli  in  Flowers— Misumena  vatia — Mimicking  Wild 
Flowers — English  Mimics — Mimicking  Bark  and  the  Ground — Natural  Selection  and 
Mimicry — Metallic  Colors — Cocoon  IMimicry — Cyclosa  caudata  and  her  Cocoon — 
Young  Mimics — A  Savage's  Decoration — Protective  Resemblance 352-377 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE   ON   HABIT, 

Perils  of  Spiders — Season  Changes— Animal  Destroyers— Rats  eat  Spiders — Sheep  also — 
Cannibalism — Goethe  on  Robber  Wasps— The  Mud  Dauber's  Nest — The  Blue  Wasp 
hawking  for  Spiders — A  Waspling  Larva  at  work — Wasp  Poison— The  Cicada 
AVasp — Pipes  of  Pan — The  Tarantula  Killer — Special  Selection — Characteristics  of 
Captives — Social  Wasps — Nest  Parasitism — The  Pirate  Spider — A  Spider  Feud — 
Spider  Duels — Body  Parasites — Parasites  on  Eggs — Saltigrade  Guests — Parasitized 
Cocoons — Mold,  Flies,  and  Birds — Foolishly  Hostile  Man — Arachne  as  a  Forest 
Keeper — Arachne  a  Philanthropist — Influence  of  Enemies  on  Industry — Moulting 
Tents — Climate  Covers — Self  Protective  Industry — The  Tiger  Spider  and  her 
Bower — Elis  4-notata — The  Burial  of  Lycosa — Lycosa  tarentula — Trapdoor  Spi- 
ders— Strange  Towers  and  their  Builders — Secret  Chambers  in  the  Earth — A  new 
Use  of  tlie  Abdomen — Shaping  tlie  Cocoon 378-418 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

DEATH    AND    ITS   DISGUISES,    HIBERNATION   AND    DEATH    FEIGNING. 

The  Decline  of  Argiope — Fashions  of  Death — First  Stages  of  Mortality — Sexta's  Death 
Record — Deatii  after  Cocooning — Limit  of  Life — Lubbock's  old  Ant  Queen — The 
oldest  Spider — Tarantula's  Age — AVinter  Habits — Winter  Dens— Winter  Tents — 
Hunting  on  the  Snow — Hibernation — Sudden  Resuscitation — Death  Feigning — Not 
Fear  Paralysis,  but  'Possuming — The  Peckliams'  Studies — Wonderful  Shamming — 
A  Spider  Stoic — Darwin's  View — Origin  of  Death  Feigning — Voluntary  Hypnotism 
among  Men — Purpose  of  the  Habit — Fabre's  Studies 419^445 


PART  VI.— FOSSIL  SPIDERS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 

Sites  of  American  Fossils — Scudder's  Studies — Lake  Florissant — Cause  of  Entombment — 
Manner  of  Entombment — Volcanic  Showers — Oeningen  Spiders — Fossil  Nephila — 
Climatic  Conditions — European  Fossil  Spiders — Fossil  and  Existing  Fauna— The 
Oldest  known  Spider — Eoatypus  woodwardii — Fossil  Tunnelweavers — Geological 
Position  of  American  Fossil  Spiders — Fossil  Spinningwork — Fossil  Cocoons — The- 
ridiosoma  Cocoon — Unmodified  Industry — The  Amber  Tree — Sources  of  Amber — 
Amber  Land — Amber  Bay — Trees  running  Amber — Deep  Sea  Storehouses — Break- 
ing up  the  Storehouses — Climate  of  Amber  Land — Insect  Food  of  Amber  Spiders — 
Spiders  of  the  Amber — Archea  paradoxa — Embalming  Amber  Insects — A  Romance 
of  Amber  Land 446-469 


LIST  OF  COLORED  PLATES. 


Plate  I. — Colors  of  Epeira  trifolium.. 

Facing  page  48.    See  Chapter  XI.,  page  326. 

Plate  II. — Mimicry  of  Environment — Trapdoor  Spiders. 
Facing  page  128.    See  Chapter  XII.,  pages  353,  354. 

Plate  III. — Mimicry  of  Environment. 

Facing  page  192.    See  Chapter  XII.,  page  366,  sq. 

Plate  IV. — Colors  of  Spiders  and  their  Cocoons. 
Facing  page  288.    See  Chapter  XI.,  page  323. 

Plate  V. — Some  Hymenopterous  Enemies  op  Spiders. 
Facing  page  368.    See  Chapter  XIII.,  page  383,  sq. 


CONTENTS   OF  VOLUME  III. 


PART  I.— GENERAL  HABITS  AND  SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES. 

Toilet  Habits — Toilet  Implements— Toilet  Methods — Hair-dressing  the  Feet — The  Tarantula's 
Toilet — Compared  with  Ants-.-House  Cleaning — Working  from  a  Swinging  Platform — 
Peril  of  Untidiness— Purse  web  Spider's  Cleanliness — Drinking  Habits — Tarantula  at  the 
Bowl — Lugging  Drops  of  Mist — Drinking  the  Dew — Swaying  the  Body — Pholcus  as  a 
Dervish — Night  Habits — Prowling — Sitting  in  the  Hub — Water  Habits — Rafting  Dolo- 
medes — Burrowing  Methods — The  Tiger  Spider — Turret  Spider — Tarantula's  Pick  and 
Wheelbarrow — Tigrina's  Courtship — Mating  of  Dictyna  philoteichous — Moulting  Habits 
in  various  Tribes — Wagner's  Notes — Renewal  of  Lost  Limbs — ^The  Process  Described — 
Weather  Prognostication — Stories  and  Traditions — Records  of  Several  Years — Arachne  as  a 
Weather  "Indicator" — Superstitions  about  Spiders — Good  Luck — Money-spinners — Spi- 
der Silk — Its  Use  in  the  Arts — Its  Economical  Value. 


PART  II.— DESCRIPTION  OF  ORBWEAVING  SPECIES. 


PART  III.— COLORED  LITHOGRAPHIC  PLATES  AND  EXPLANATIONS. 


PART  L-COURTSHIP  AND  MATING  OF  SPIDERS. 

OHAPTEE    I. 

WOOING  AND   MATING  OF  ORBWEAVERS. 

I. 
There  is  nothing  in  the  Hfe  history  of  spiders  that  seems  to  me  more 
mysterious  and  wonderful  than  the  faculty  by  which  the  male  finds  the 
female  to  fulfill  his  office  in  Nature  and  fertilize  the  eggs.  Over  all  diffi- 
culties and  distance,  through  the  midst  often  of  a  multitude  of 
The  Mys-  individuals  of  various  families  and  genera,  and  with  apparently 
j^Z-  unfailing  accuracy,   the   males  of  the   several  species   find   their 

appropriate  mates. 
It  is  impossible  to  determine  definitely  how  wide  is  the  circuit  over 
which  is  scattered  any  single  brood  of  spiderlings  after  its  exode  from  the 
cocoon.  Circumstances  may  confine  all  the  individuals  to  a  comparatively 
narrow  space.  More  commonly,  perhaps,  through  the  aeronautic  habit,  by 
the  agency  of  passing  winds,  they  are  dispersed  throughout  a  wide  region. 
Under  ordinary  circumstances,  at  least,  the  space  is  practically  impassible 
by  spiders  whose  habits  are  as  sedentary  as  those  of  Orbweavers.  Yet  such 
is  the  power  of  the  marital  sense,  and  so  strong  and  true  the  guidance  of 
sexual  feeling,  that,  over  all  barriers  of  environment  the  male  reaches  his 
proper  consort.  As  far  as  I  know,  he  never  makes  a  mistake  by  falling 
upon  the  web  of  an  alien  species.  At  all  events,  if  such  error  occurs,  he 
knows  enough  to  promptly  turn  away. 

The  partner  whom  the  Orbweaver  gallant  seeks  is  commonly  seated  in 

a  well  isolated  nest,  or  at  the  hub  of  her  snare,  separated  by  a  distance  of 

several  inches  from  him  as  he  travels  over  the  leaves,  twigs,  and 

"^^^  other  material  upon  which  the  foundations  of  the  orb  are  hung. 

TVTfl  1  ft 'ft 

„  ,  „  (See  Fig.  1.)  The  errant  lover's  difficulty  in  finding  a  mate  must 
His  Mate  certainly  be  increased  by  this  fact,  for  in  his  cautious  approaches 
he  is  not  able  to  draw  very  near,  but  must  determine  through  a 
distance  relatively  great  the  question  of  identity:  "Is  this  a  partner  of  my 
species  or  not?"  He  touches  the  outer  foundation  line  of  the  orb,  and 
determines  the  question  from  that  position.  If  he  is  satisfied,  he  settles 
near  or  upon  the  web,  and  awaits  the  issue  of  his  courtship. 

And  now,  how  has  he  determined,  simply  from  contact  with  the  snare 
spun  by  his  chosen   spouse,  that   this   is  the  individual  whom   he   seeks? 

(15) 


16  AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

AVhat  trace  has  the  female  left  of  her  identity?  By  what  subtle  influence 
does  she  attract  her  wooer  to  settle  in  her  vicinity  ?  By  what  strange 
responsive  power  does  he  know  the  signs,  and  discern  that  his  mate  anii 
the  mating  hour  are  nigh?  There  is  no  fact  in  the  life  of  spiders  that 
has  struck  me  with  greater  force  as  an  unsolved  mystery  of  Nature  than 
this.  I  have  no  suggestions  to  offer  in  answer  of  the  queries  raised,  but 
proceed  to  give  such  facts  about  the  pairing  of  spiders  as  have  passed 
under  my  observation,  and  been  gathered  from  the  records  of  others. 

To  arachnologists  such  studies  are  of  special  value.  In  the  systematic 
grouping  of  spiders,  among  the  characters  to  which  later  students  give 
greatest  force  are  the  distinctive  organs  of  the  male  and  female.  The 
characters  of  the  palp  on  the  one,  and  the  epigynum  on  the  other,  dom- 
inate the  decisions  by  which  species  are  determined.  It  is  certainly  reason- 
able to  infer  that  if  the  external  forms  of  these  organs  are  of  such  con- 
trolling value  in  determining  species,  the  use  of  the  organs,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  manner  of  pairing,  might  be  expected  to  show  characteristic 
differences.  In  point  of  fact  we  so  find  it;  and  the  reader  will  be  able  to 
determine  how  closely  the  one  may  correspond  with  the  other.  I  venture 
to  add  the  suggestion  that  habits  which  stand  at  the  very  gates  of  life 
must  have  especial  value  in  the  natural  history  of  such  creatures  as  we 
are  studying,  and  no  artificial  delicacy  should  turn  aside  the  student. 

It  seems  probable  that  fewer  male  spiders   than  females  are   hatched 
from   the   eggs ;  or,  that  fewer  reach  the   adult  state.     At  least,  one  finds 
not   only   in    collections,   but    in  field   observations,   that   females 
Males        commonly  greatly  outnumber  males.     It  would  follow  that  one 
,.     ,  male   spider   probably   serves    as   gallant   for   several  females,   a 

Fewer.  species  of  polygamy  which  reminds  us  of  the  barnyard  chanti- 
cleer. This  fact,  as  has  been  said,^  would  indicate  that  the  peril 
which  an  aranead  husband  is  commonly  supposed  to  undergo  during 
courtship  has  been  considerr.bly  exaggerated  by  writers.  According  to 
De  Geer,  in  his  observation  upon  Linyphia  montana,  a  single  male  suffices 
for  many  females,  to  whom  he  pays  his  respects  consecutively  in  the  same 
hour.  2  Mr.  Campbell  saw  one  male  in  union  with  three  females  of  Tege- 
naria  guyonii  during  twenty  days  in  August.^  Professor  Peckham  records 
similar  facts  among  the  Saltigrades.  Thorell  speaks  of  the  male  as  "the 
rarer  sex,""^  and  Darwin  was  informed  by  Black  wall  that  males  are  more 
numerous  than  females  with  a  few  species,  but  that  the  reverse  appears  to 
be  the  case  out  of  several  species  in  six  genera.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr. 
Campbell  captured  ten  spiderlings  of  Tegenaria  and  found  that  seven  of 
them  showed  the  swollen  palps  of  the  immature  male.^ 

^  Emile  Blanchard,  quoted  from  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes  in  "  Popular  Science,"  Octo- 
ber, 1888.  ^  Vide  Walck.,  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  page  411,  suppl. 

^  Linn.  Soc.  Jour.  Zool.,  Vol.  XVII.,  "  Pairing  of  Tegenaria  guyonii,"  page  167. 
*  "  On  European  Spiders,"  page  205.  *  "  Pairing  of  Teg.  guyonii,"  page  168. 


WOOING  AND   MATING. 


17 


Pig.  1.    Snare  and  nest  of  the  Shamrock  spider.    The  orb,  nest,  and  surroundings 
show  the  field  of  courtship  among  Epe'iroids. 


18 


AMERICAN    SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


It  is  perhaps  not  strange  that  there  should  be  such  wide  differences  of 
opinion,  since  the  conclusions  are  based  chiefly  upon  the  indications  of 
collections.  Now,  in  Nature,  the  males  show  themselves  in  great- 
^®^  est  numbers  at  the  pairing  period.  They  appear  to  mature  a 
Mating,  little  earlier  than  the  females,  and  their  solicitations  have  begun 
even  before  there  is  reasonable  hope  for  favorable  response. 
Thus,  at  this  particular  time  they  may  be  found  by  a  collector  more 
readily  than  at  any  other,  and  would  show  in  larger  numbers  in  his  col- 
lection. As  most  males  disap- 
pear shortly  after  maturing,  and 
are  probably  not  long  lived,  while 
the  female  survives  until  after 
cocooning,  collections  made  after 
the  mating  time  would  be  lack- 
ing in  males. 

I  have  seen  four  males  of  the 
Banded  and  three  of  the  Bas- 
ket Argiope  respective- 
evera  -^y  hanging  at  the  same 
time  upon  the  margin 
of  one  female's  snare.  I  have 
observed  two  and  three  males  of 
the  Labyrinth  spider  waiting  in 
the  outer  courts  of  the  habitation 
of  the  female  of  that  species,  and 
the  same  number  of  the  Insular 
spider  ranged  near  the  leafy  bow- 
er of  my  lady  Insularis.  I  have 
seen  two  males  of  Agalena  nsevia 
approaching  at  one  time  the  door 
of  their  lady's  silken  chamber, 
although  it  must  be  said  that  one 
of  them  promptly  ran  away  when 
he  found  that  his  rival  had  come 
nearer  than  he.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  many  females  deposit  their  eggs 
without  previous  fertilizing ;  at  all  events,  I  have  frequently  found  cocoons 
containing  infertile  eggs.  But  in  the  long  run,  in  view  of  such  facts  as 
the  above,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  questioned  that  Nature,  who  always  knows 
how  to  hold  an  even  balance  in  the  product  of  her  living  creatures,  pro- 
vides a  master  for  every  mate. 

n. 

The  males  of  Argiope  begin  to  mature  about  the  middle  of  July,  and 
they  anticipate  somewhat  the  maturity  of  the  female.     They  may  be  found 


Fig.  2.    Males  of  Argiope  cophinaria  courting  the  female. 


WOOING   AND   MATING. 


19 


at  this  period  occasionally  occupying  separate  webs,  but  more  frequently 
domesticated  upon  the  orb  of  the  female,  upon  which  several  will  be  found 

congregated.     For  example,  in  a  clump  of  grasses   I  found   the 

The  y^TQ^y  Qf  g^jj  apparently  mature  female,  to  whom  three  males  were 

°^     .  ^^  paying  attention.     Two  of  the  males  were  established  upon  the 

ope  outer   margins  .of   the    female's    snare,  upon    small    rudimentary 

webs.     The  third  had  built  a  separate  snare  immediately  behind 
the  female.     There  he  hung  in  the  usual  position  at  the  hub,  which  was 
covered  with   light   straggling  lines,  a  kind   of   imitation   of   the   ordinary 
shield.      Above    and    below   were    two 
faint,  irregularly  formed  ribbons,  mere 
suggestions,  of    the    beautiful    ribbon 
spun  by  the  female.     This   snare  had 
about   twenty-one   radii   and  twelve  or 
thirteen    spirals  beaded    apparently   in 
the  ordinary  way.    The  web  was  about 
four   inches  in   length   and   about  two 
inches  wide. 

On    the    same    day    several    males 
were  found  on   separate   webs.     These 

webs  are  ordinarily  quite  ru- 
-_  .  .  dimentary.  In  one  the  upper 
giope         P^^^  consisted   principally  of 

a  mass  of  straggling  lines 
somewhat  resembling  a  shield  of  the 
female  when  it  is  first  spun.  The 
lower  part  had  ten  radii  concentrated 
upon  the  hub  and  all  of  them  crossed 
by  beaded  interradials.  The  occupant 
hung  to  the  upper  part  of  his  snare 
and  stretched  his  legs  over  the  lower 
part.  The  snare  in  width  was  little 
greater  than  the  spider's  length  meas- 
ured from  the  tip  of  the  hind  legs  to  the  feet  of  the  fore  legs, 
w^ords,  he  spanned  his  entire  web. 

Another  and  similar  male  snare  was  found  spun  into  the  protective 
wings  of  a  mature  female  snare.  A  figure  of  this  rudimentary  w^eb  is 
given.  (Fig,  3.)  On  the  whole,  my  observations  justify  the  conclusion  that 
after  the  male  spider  matures,  the  character  of  his  web  is  rudimentary,  after 
the  manner  above  described  and  sketched.  Previous  to  that  period  he  ap- 
pears to  form  the  characteristic  web  of  the  species,  quite  like  young  females. 
In  the  immature  state,  the  male  Argiope  differs  from  the  mature  individ- 
ual; it  then  resembles  more  closely  the  female  in  shape  and  the  markings 
upon  its  back.     Indeed,  at  first  glance,  it  would  be  taken  for  a  young  female. 


Fig.  3.    Male  Argiope  copbinaria  upon  his  snare. 


In  other 


20  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINQWORK. 

In  other  species  the  conditions  of  male  spinningwork  are  different.     For 
example,  I  found, ^  in  a  grove  of  young  oak  trees,  a  number  of  males  of 
Epeira  insularis  established  in  nests,  and  with  perfect  orbs  spread 
Snare  and  ^gjjg^^j^   them.      The  nests  were   well   sewed,   and    like  those  of 
^  ,  the  females,  which   were  numerous   in   the   vicinity.      The   orbs 

Insiilaris.  were  also  perfect,  and  of  the  typical  .sort.  These  males  were 
mature ;  some  had  their  nests  built  close  to  those  of  females, 
upon  whom  they  were  evidently  in  attendance.  In  several  cases  two  and 
three  males  were  seen  in  the  same  neighborhood,  occupying  nests  or  hang- 
ing about  the  margins  of  the  same  female's  snare. 

One  male  of  Argiope  cophinaria  was  found  on  the  same  day  (August 
28th),  which  had  spun  a  tolerably  perfect  snare  twelve  inches  behind  the 
orb  of  a  mature  female.  This  snare  had  twenty-eight  radii  and  nine 
spirals,  and  the  flanks  were  protected  by  wings  or  fenders  of  the  typical 
sort  heretofore  described,  ^  Thus,  there  appears  to  be  a  striking  difference 
in  the  character  of  the  web  made  by  the  male  of  this  species  and  that 
woven  by  the  male  Insularis.  In  Cophinaria  the  orb  is  certainly  not  per- 
fect after  the  type  of  the  species,  but  in  Insularis  it  appears  in  every  re- 
spect to  conform  to  the  type,  as  does  also  the  leafy  nest  or  tent.  It  may 
be  added,  as  perhaps  throwing  some  light  upon  such  a  difference,  that  the 
male  Insularis  is  a  larger  and  more  formidable  animal  than  the  male 
Cophinaria,  and  relatively  much  more  equal  in  size  and  strength  to  his 
mate. 

III. 

The  first  stages  of  courtship  have  already  been  indicated.    Having  found 

the  snare  of  his   partner,   the  male  Orbweaver  stations   himself  upon  the 

outer  border  and  awaits  results.     It   is  not   difficult  for  him   to 

First  communicate  his  presence.     Indeed,  he  must  take  his  place  deftly 

Stages  of  .  . 

P    ~.         and   keep   it   quietly   upon   the   snare,   or   he  will  quickly  bring 

ship.  down  upon  him  the  voracious   lady  of   the  house.     A  touch  of 

his  claw  upon  a  radius  would  telegraph  to  the  female  the  fact 
of  his  presence;  and  I  believe,  from  what  I  have  seen  of  the  operations 
of  the  male  in  this  preliminary  courtship,  as  well  as  from  the  recorded 
observations  of  others,^  that  he  does  thus  intimate  his  presence,  and  that 
the  first  stages  of  the  engagement  are  consummated  by  these  telegraphic 
communications  back  and  forth  between  male  and  female  over  the  delicate 
filaments  of  the  silken  snare. 

If  matters  be  favorable,  the  male  draws  nearer,  usually  by  short  ap- 
proaches, renewing  the  signals  at  the  halting  places.  Sometimes  this  pre- 
liminary stay  is  brief;  sometimes  it  is  greatly  prolonged.  I  have  known 
it  to  be  continued  during  several  days,  in  which  the  male  would  patiently 


^  August  28th,  Niantic,  Connecticut.  *  Vol.  I.,  chapter  vi.,  page  105,  Fig.  96. 

*  See  the  statements  of  Walckenaer,  Menge,  and  Emerton,  further  on. 


WOOING   AND   MATING. 


21 


Love 
Signals 


Love 
Signals. 


wait— sometimes,  but  not  always,  changing  his  position— until  his  advances 
were  favorably  received,  or  were  so  decidedly  repulsed  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retire.  With  Labyrinth  spiders  I  have  generally  seen  the  male 
stationed  upon  the  maze,  or  that  part  of  the  snare  which  consists  of 
crossed  lines.  Here  he  would  make  for  himself,  as  he  hung  back  down- 
ward, a  little  dome  of  spinningwork,  which  spread  above  him 
like  a  miniature  umbrella.  (Fig.  4.)  The  male  of  Argiope 
cophinaria  feels  the  web  with  his  feet  for  some  time^  before 
the  final  approach.  The  male  of  Linyphia  marginata,  as  he  cautiously 
approaches,  pulls  upon  the  threads  connecting  his  own  with  his  lady's 
bower.  2  The  male  of  Epei- 
ra  diademata  commences  his 
courtship  by  touching  with 
one  leg  a  thread  of  his  lady's 
web.^ 

Professor  Peckham's  ob- 
servation upon  the  courtship 
of  Argiope  coph- 
Argiope's  jnaria  is  to  the 
same  effect.  When 
advancing  towards 
the  female,  the  male  seems  to 
pause  and  pull  at  the  strands 
of  the  web,  as  though  to  no- 
tify her  of  his  approach. 
When  he  comes  toward  her 
from  the  front  she  imparts 
a  slight  motion  to  the  web 
with  her  legs,  which  seems 
to  serve  as  a  warning,  as  he 
either  moves  away  or  drops 
out  of  the  web.  When  he 
comes  from  behind,  she  pays  no  attention  to  him  until  he  begins  to  creep 
up  on  her  body,  when  she  slowly  raises  one  of  her  long  legs  and  brushes 
him  off. 

The  same  author  watched  the  successive  and  unsuccessful  approaches 
of  three  males  who  were  paying  their  court  to  a  female  Argiope  argyraspis. 
The  warning  vibration  of  the  web  as  the  males  approached  was  noted  in 
this  species  also,  and  Professor  Peckham  believed  that  the  female  recog- 
nized from  the  character  of  the  vibration  the  advent  of  a  male,  distin- 
guishing the    movement  of    the    lines    from  that  made    by  a  struggling 

^  Emerton,  "  Habits  and  Structure,"  page  87. 

^  See  my  description  of  the  pairing,  hereafter. 

*  Termeyer :  Proceedings  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  I.,  page  71. 


Fig.  4.  Three  male  Labyrinth  spiders 
in  attendance  upon  a  female.  The  fe- 
male is  the  upper  figure,  in  the  nest. 


22  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


insect  entangled  in  the  meshes  of  the  snare.*  Of  this  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  the  female  appears  to  be  always  conscious  of  the  presence  of  a 
male  of  her  species,  as  distinguished  from  all  other  intruders. 

IV. 

The  period  of  approach  or  courtship  is  generally  terminated  by  a  sud- 
den rush,  which  brings  the  partners  into  union.  The  advances,  as  far  as 
I  know,  are  made  by  the  male ;   rarely  by  the  female — directly, 

e  oy-  ^^  least.  They  are  not  always  received  with  favor;  and  it  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  the  male  is  sometimes  sorely  put  to  it  to 
make  his  escape  from  the  premises  of  an  unresponsive  female,  and  occa- 
sionally prosecutes  his  amours  at  the  cost  of  life.  Menge,  in  the  course 
of  his  experimental  observations,  lost  many  males,  after  feeding  them  un- 
til mature,  by  introducing  them  into  a  cylinder  containing  females.  ^  Ter- 
ineyer  records,  with  a  "  surprise  and  indignation "  which  seems  refreshing 
to  modern  observers,  that  a  male  Diadem  spider,  after  the  act  of  union 
with  the  female,  was  attacked  by  his  spouse,  and,  happening  to  be  in  such 
close  quarters  that  he  could  not  escape,  was  deliberately  enveloped  in  her 
threads  and  devoured.^ 

I  have  watched  this  point  with  great  interest  in  the  experimental  colo- 
nies upon  my  vines.  Many  males  of  Argiope  cophinaria  have  been  found 
trussed  up  and  suspended  on  the  snares  of  females  upon  whom  I  had  seen 
them  in  attendance  but  a  little  while  before.  Two  males  were  thus  de- 
stroyed by  the  same  female  in  one  day.  In  some  cases  the  males  would 
be  tolerated  for  several  days,  even  though  they  hung  quite  near,  and  then, 
without  any  apparent  reason,  would  be  suddenly  found  killed  and  hung 
up  in  silken  bonds  close  by  my  lady's  bed  at  the  hub  of  her  orb.  In 
these  cases  there  can  be  no-  doubt  that  the  female  knew  the  character 
of  her  visitor  during  all  his  stay.  Any  other  creature  thus  intruding  would 
at  once  have  been  attacked.  The  amatory  feeling  was  evidently  strong 
enough  to  tolerate  her  lover's  presence  for  several  days,  but  not  sufficiently 
warm  to  encourage  the  further  advances  which  he  made,  and  which  cost 
him  his  life. 

One  female  was  attended  for  a  number  of  days  by  a  male  who  kept 
near  and  just  above  her,  often  feeling  her  gently  with  his  fore  legs.  I 
supposed  the  female  to  be  mature,  but  could  not  decide  without  capturing 
her.  However,  I  one  day  found  her  moulting,  apparently  the  last  moult 
preceding  complete  maturity.  A  few  hours  after  the  moult  I  found  my 
patient  gallant  trussed  up  and  hanging  close  by  his  lady  love,  who  had 
not  deigned  to  eat  him.  (Fig.  5.)  In  spider  world,  at  least,  it  would 
sometimes  seem  an  ill  advised  action  to  "haste  to  the  wedding."     I  have, 

^  Sexual  Selection  in  Spiders,  page  55.  '^  Preussische  Spinnen. 

^  Proceedings  Ji^esex  Institute. 


WOOING   AND   MATING. 


23 


Fig.  5.    Female  Argiope  with  a  fresh  moult  and  slaughtered  mate 
hanging  to  her  web. 


24  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


but  less  frequently,  noted  similar  treatment  of  the  male  Insularis  by  his 
mate.  He  is  better  equipped  for  taking  care  of  himself  than  the  male 
Cophinaria,  but,  nevertheless,  sometimes  pays  the  penalty  of  his  rashness 
and  importunity. 

Notwithstanding  the  above  facts,  I   have   reason  to  know  that  matters 
are  sometimes  reversed,  and  the  female  is  the  victim  of   the  cannibal  ap- 
petite of   the  male.     Among  my  own  specimens,  for  example,  I 

_     ,  have  had  a  male  of  the  Furrow  spider,  which  was  enclosed  in  a 

Destroy  ,  .  . 

Females    J^^  along  with  two  females,  satisfy  his  hunger  by  devouring  one 

of  his  partners.  Baron  Walckenaer  saw  a  male  of  Epeira  incli- 
nata  take  advantage  of  a  female  of  his  species,  which  was  not  able  to  stir 
without  difficulty,  being  full  of  eggs,  to  attack,  garrote,  and  eat  her.^ 

Mr.  Campbell  observed  the  male  of  Tegenaria  guyonii  destroying  the 
female.  Of  one  pair  which  he  placed  together,  the  male  at  once  began  to 
pay  his  addresses.  Shortly  afterward  he  rapidly  applied  one  of  his  palps 
to  the  female,  in  the  manner  elsewhere  described,  and,  apparently,  with  her 
consent.  Five  hours  afterward  he  charged  his  partner,  tore  away  two  legs 
below  the  trochanter,  and  began  to  suck  one,  using  the  mandibles  to  hold 
the  limb,  just  as  a  human  being  would  a  stick  of  asparagus.  The  female 
died  an  hour  afterward.  This  female  lacked  one  moult  of  being  mature ; 
but  her  killing  cannot  be  explained  by  her  supposed  sexual  incapability, 
for  Mr.  Campbell  says  he  saw  two  males  similarly  dismember  their  spouses 
an  hour  after  union.  Hunger  could  not  have  been  the  cause  of  this  feroc- 
ity, for  they  were  well  fed.  In  fact,  males  in  confinement  take  their  food 
much  better  than  females,  which  may  be  due  to  their  being  accustomed  to 
feed,  during  their  sexual  excursions,  in  places  which  are  strange  to  them. 
Only  twice  did  Mr.  Campbell  see  a  female  of  Tegenaria  drive  the  male 
away.  In  both  cases  this  occurred  immediately  after  union.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  illustrating  the  difference  which  individual  disposition  or  circum- 
stances may  produce,  the  same  observer  kept  together  an  adult  pair  of 
this  species  from  the  22d  of  August  to  the  28th  of  October,  more  than  two 
months,  and  they  lived  in  perfect  unity.  The  male  never  ceased  paying 
unrequited  attentions,  except  to  feed.^ 

Excepting  one  spider,  Argyroneta  aquatica,  whose  male  is  larger  than 
his  mate,  all  those  found  in  Great   Britain  have  the   female   either   equal 

in  size  to,  or  else  larger  than,  the  male.  (See  Figs.  9,  10.)  The 
Relative  difference,  however,  between  the  sexes  in  these  northern  regions 
Sexes         ^^  ^^^  carried  to  the  extreme  limits  which  are  frequently  reached 

in  the  tropics.  For  example,  Nephila  chrysogaster  Walck.,  an 
almost  universally  distributed  tropical  Epeiroid,  measures  two  inches  in 
length  of  body,  while  that  of  the  male  scarcely  exceeds  one-tenth  of  an 
inch,  and  is  less  than  one  thirteen-hundredth  part  of  her  weight.     In  other 

^  Apteres,  I.,  page  143.  =^  Pairing  of  Tegenaria  guyonii,  page  168. 


WOOING  AND   MATING. 


25 


26 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


words,  the  female  is  twenty  times  as  long  and  thirteen  hundred  times  as 
heavy  as  her  partner.^  Dr.  Vinson  ^  strikingly  represents  this  disparity 
of  size  in  the  species  Nephila  nigra  (Vinson),  which  is  here  presented, 
(Fig.  6),  with  both  sexes  natural  size.  A  full  grown  female  of  our  Basket 
Argiope  bears  about  the  relative  proportion  to  the  size  of  her  male,  of  a 
horse  to  a  large  dog.  The  largest  female  Argiope  measures  in  body  length 
one  inch,  in  spread  of  legs  three  inches.  Her  abdomen  is  thick  in  pro- 
portion. A  male  has  a  body  length  of  one-fourth  inch,  the  spread  of  legs 
being  one  inch  and  a  quarter.  Fig,  14  will  show  the  relative  body  lengths 
and  sizes  of  the  sexes  of  Argiope  cophinaria. 

This  disproportion,  however,  in  the  size  of  the  sexes  is  not  universal.  In 
some  species,  as  will  be  found  by  a  reference  to  the  plates  in  Volume  III.,  the 
difference  is  slight,  and,  indeed,  is  sometimes  on  the  side  of  the  male,  even 
among  Orbweavers,  as  in  the  case  of  Epeira  strix.  Moreover,  the  males 
have  relatively  longer  and  apparently  more  powerful  legs  than  the  female. 
The  increased  length  must  be  serviceable  in  the  preliminary  courtship, 
when  the  males  stand  off  and  solicit  or  test  the  feeling  of 
their  mates  by  touches  of  the  fore  feet.  These  features  are 
also  beneficial  in  clasping  their  mates  during  amatory  em- 
brace, and  must  add  to  their  muscular  vigor  both  in  conflict 
and  retreat.  This  difference  in  the  legs,  I  have  no  doubt, 
fully  compensates  for  difference  in  body  size  in  the  case  of 
many  species.  Especially  is  this  true  in  the  case  of  the  Wan- 
derers, with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  some  of  the  Thom- 
isoids.  Moreover,  the  legs  of  some  Orbweavers  are  armed 
with  formidable  weapons  in  rows  of  strong  spines  arranged 
Fig.  7.  Tibial  spines,  aloug  the  inner  surface  of  the  tibia.  (Fig.  7,  Tibial  spines 
(After  Emerton.)     ^£  Epcira  domiciliorum,  a,  and  Epeira  trivittata,  b.) 

There   is   also   a   difference   in   size   among   the   individuals   of  any  one 
species.     I  have  found  females   (Epeira  vertebrata)    quite  mature,  making 
cocoons,  who  were  scarcely  more  than  half  as  large  as  others  of 
Size  Va-    ^Y\e  same  species,  and  to   some   extent   a  like   difference   prevails 
g  in  the  sizes  of   the   other  sex.     It  may  readily  occur,   therefore. 

Species.  ^^^^^  ^  large  male  and  a  small  female  will  come  together,  and 
thus,  in  point  of  strength,  be  placed  more  nearly  upon  an  equal- 
ity, or  even  give  the  preponderance  to  the  male.  In  such  a  case  his  oppor- 
tunity for  feeding  upon  his  partner  is  .quite  as  good  as  hers.  For  these 
reasons  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  the  perils  of  courtship  depend,  first, 
upon  the  relative  size  of  the  individuals,  and,  second,  upon  the  chances 
of  arousing  the  voracious  appetite  of  one  or  the  other  partner  by  unusual 
movements.     In   other    and    ordinary   cases.   Nature    provides   a   sentiment 


1  Cambridge,  "Spiders  of  Dorset,"  introduction,  page  xxvii. 
^  Spiders  of  Reunion,  Maurice,  and  Madagascar,  PI.  VI. 


WOOING  AND   MATING.  27 


strong  enough  to  protect  the  origins  of  life.  It  may  be  added  here  that 
the  only  two  species  of  Orbweavers  which  are  said  never  to  repel  the  ad- 
vances of  the  male  are  those  belonging  to  the  genera  Tetragnatha  and 
Pachagnatha — genera,  b}^  the  way,  which  are  marked  by  the  most  formidable 
developments  of  the  mandibles,  particularly  in  the  male,  the  chief  organs 
of  attack  and  defense  among  spiders.  This  would  seem  to  be  an  example 
of  the  theory  that  the  best  way  to  insure  peace  is  to  be  thoroughly  pre- 
pared for  and  formidable  in  war, 

V. 

While  the  above  facts  represent  the  relations  between  the  sexes  of  spiders 
as  they  generally  exist,  there  are  some  exceptions  which  present  our  araneads 
under  a  more  domestic  character.  Among  the  Retitelaria;  and 
many  families  of  the  Theridioids,  the  males  dwell  a  long  time 
with  the  females  on  the  same  web.  I  have  fre- 
MoreDo-  quently  observed  tlie  male  of  Theridium  tepedari- 
Tx  ,-.  orum,  the  most  ferocious  and  formidable  of  our 
common  species,  stationed  with  comparative  secur- 
ity upon  the  cobweb  of  the  female.  The  interesting  little 
black  Lineweaver,  known  as  Steatoda  borealis,  I  have  very 
often  found  underneath  stones,  or  in  webs  of  crossed  lines  in 
other  situations,  where  the  two  sexes  dwelt  together  in  ap- 
parent harmony.  I  believe  that  this  is  an  habitual  domestic 
characteristic  of  this  species.  The  pretty  Lineweaver,  Liny-  "per  'figure^  a^n^ 
phia  costata,^  also  belongs  to  the  few  American  species  known  female  of  stea- 
to  me  of  which  the  male  and  female  occupy  a  common  home. 
I  have  nearly  always  seen  them  together  upon  the  same  slight  snare  of 
lines  stretched  between  the  edges  of  a  leaf,  or  in  like  situations. 

Dolomedes  mirabilis  of  Europe  is  said  to  share  with  the  female  the  care 
of  their  posterity.  He  will  take  up  the  cocoon  which  the  female  drops, 
place  it  under  his  breast,  and  defend  it  until  the  little  ones  are 
Sexes  hatched.  2  The  males  of  Epeira  apoclisa  of  Europe  are  said  to 
Toe-ettier  ^^^^^  with  the  females  in  the  same  nest,  without  inflicting  or  re- 
ceiving injury.  According  to  De  Geer  tlie  male  and  female  of 
Epeira  fusca  dwell  harmoniously  near  each  other,  at  least  in  the  spring- 
time. The  male  is  a  little  apart  from  the  female,  and  sometimes  ventures 
to  promenade  the  common  web  without  receiving  any  injury  from  his 
partner. 3  Walckenaer  confirms  this  observation.*  The  little  English  spider, 
Ergatis  benigna,  has  earned  its  pleasant  specific  name  "benigna"  by  the 
fact  that  she  Uves  peaceably  with  her  husband   in  the  same  nest.     This  is 


^  The  Linyphia  phrygiana  of  Europe,  according  to  Emertx)n,        *  Walckenaer. 

*  L'Hist.  Nat.  des  Insectes,  Tom.  7,  page  236.  *  Apt.,  Vol.  II.,  page  85. 


28 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


constructed  by  the  joint  labors  of  the  wedded  couple,  and  is  a  loosely 
framed  den,  with  quite  open  meshes,  spun  upon  the  blossoming  top  or  be- 
tween the  stalks  of  grasses.  ^ 

Of  the  beautiful  European   Orbweaver,  Epeira  quadrata,  Menge  states 
that  towards  the  end  of  July  he  observed  five  nests  in  which  the  two  sexes 
lived  together  peacefully.     These  nests  are  similar  to  those  made 
Tempo-     i^y  Q^j.  Insular  and  Shamrock  spiders,  which  are  dens  of  folded 
,  leaves,  whose  interiors  are  tapestried  with  silk.     The  female  Quad- 

rata occupied  the  upper  part  of  the  nest,  having  her  fore  legs 
doubled  up  so  that  the  knees  projected  above  the  head.  The  male  occu- 
pied the  opposite  part  of  the  tent,  and  kept  his  legs  folded  as  conveniently 
as  was  possible  under  the  circumstances  without  elevating  the  body.  This, 
however,  was  not  a  permanent  arrangement,  but  only  a  preliminary  stage 
of  courtship,  and  doubtless  terminated  when  the   act  of  pairing  occurred.^ 


Pig.  9.  Fig.  10. 

Fig.  9,  female,  and  Fig.  10,  male  Water  spider,  Argyroneta  aquatica.    (After  Blackwall.) 

I  have  seen  the  male  and  female  of  our  Epeira  insularis  and  trifolium  occu- 
pying the  same  tent,  apparently  under  similar  circumstances,  and  regarded 
the  situation  as  exceptional.  Certainly  these  species  habitually  live  separate. 
The  Abbe  de  Lignac,  having  placed  a  large  number  of  Argyronetas  in 
a  bottle,  found  that  they  devoured  each  other.  The  male,  says  he,  which 
was  perhaps  the  only  one,  had  been  sacrificed  to  the  jealousies 
of  the  females,  who  after  him  were  mutually  destroyed.^  Baron 
Walckenaer  records  a  fact  which  appears  to  be  contrary  to  this. 
He  put  a  number  of  Water  spiders  in  a  glass  vase  along  with  some  gold 
fishes.  Within  the  vase  he  placed  a  bunch  of  coral,  and  observed  a  female 
make   her  bell  shaped  nest  and  attach  it   to  a  branch  of   the  coral,  and  a 

^  Staveley,  British  Spiders,  page  120. 

2  Menge,  Prussian  Spiders.    Under  Epeira  quadrata. 

^  Memoire  pour  servir  a  coinniencer  I'Histoire  des  Araign^es  Aquatiques,  page  52.  Paris, 
1748.  By  Joseph  Albert  de  Large  de  Lignac.  I  quote  here  and  elsewhere  from  the  original 
edition  in  the  library  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  of  Philadelphia. 


Domes 
ticity. 


WOOING  AND  MATING.  29 


large  male,  construct  his  domicile  at  the  side  of  this  female.  He  was  wit- 
ness of  their  caresses  and  their  amours,  but  having  been  forced  to  be  ab- 
sent he  could  find  upon  his  return  only  the  male  and  a  few  young  spiders. 
All  the  females,  to  the  number  of  seven  or  eight,  had  disappeared.  He 
was  not  able  to  recover  them,  and  supposed  that  they  had  been  devoured 
by  the  male,  who  was  in  good  condition  and  very  lively.  However,  he 
never  could  find  any  of  the  debris  of  the  legs  and  mandibles,  and  a  spider 
is  not  able  to  devour  these  hard  parts.  ^ 

Clerck  kept  together  one  male  and  ten  females  of  these  spiders  for  many 
•successive  days,  during  which  they  were  not  provided  with  food,  without 
having  observed  the  least  disagreement.  ^  De  Geer  placed  many  males  and 
females  in  the  same  vase,  and  they  never  attempted  to  injure  each  other. 
He  observed  that  when  they  encountered  one  another  in  the  water  they 
mutually  felt  each  other  with  their  legs,  embracing  with  some  vigor,  and 
whether  male  to  male  or  female  to  female,  they  opened  wide  their  formi- 
dable mandibles  with  such  force  that  for  the  moment  the  observer  expected 
to  see  them  give  the  death  stroke.  But  they  did  nothing.  After  having 
felt  one  another  for  a  long  time,  they  separated  and  swam  each  to  his  own 
cell.  De  Geer  placed  water  insects  into  the  vessel.  The  same  spiders,  who 
had  been  so  tolerant  of  one  another,  instantly  seized  and  devoured  these 
creatures,  their  natural  prey.  It  seemed  to  Baron  De  Geer  that  the  Argy- 
ronetas  were  less  cruel  than  terrestrial  spiders.^ 

Cambridge  states  that  the  two  sexes  of  Agalena  labyrinthea  may  be 
found  in  great  amity  together  in  their  tubular  retreat;  so  also  the  sexes  of 
Meta  segmentata,  Linyphia  marginata,  and  other  species  inhabit 
the  same  web  when  adult."*  This  statement  is  made  without  any 
qualification,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think,  judging  from  what  I  know  of  the 
American  congeners  of  these  species,  that  the  inhabiting  of  the  web  by  the 
two  sexes  is  not  in  any  proper  sense  a  dwelling  together,  but  is  confined  to 
the  period  of  pairing,  when  the  males  seek  the  web  in  courtship  and  remain 
sometimes  hanging  about  the  snare  for  several  days. 

Mr.  Enoch  ^  found  on  July  7th  a  male  and  female  of  Atypus  piceus  dwell- 
ing together  in  the  same  tube,  which  was  a  large  one.  He  had  no  doubt 
that  they  had  been  thus  living  together  since  October  of  the  pre- 

.  ceding  year.     If  this  be  so,  Atypus   presents  one   of   the  most 

piceus.  • .  '        J  i-        r- 

striking  examples   of   conjugal   domesticity  and  fidelity  thus  far 
observed  among  aranead  tribes.     The  tubes   of  the  males  were   generally 

^  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  page  390. 

^  Svenska  Spindlar,  etc.,  page  148.  Aranei  Svecici,  Descriptionibus  et  Figuris,  etc.  Caroli 
Clerck,  Eeg.  Soc.  Scient.  Upsal  Memb.  Stockholmiae,  MDCCLVII.  In  Swedish  and  Latin.  I 
quote  here  and  elsewhere  from  the  Latin  version. 

^  Memoire  pour  servir  I'Histoire  dea  Insectes,  par  M.  le  Baron  Carles  De  Geer.  Tome 
Septieme,  Ouvrage  Posthume,  page  308.    A  Stockholm,  MDCCLXXVIII. 

*  "  Spiders  of  Dorset,"  page  xxxiii. 

5  Life  History  of  Atypus  piceus.    Trans.  Ento.  Soc.  London,  1885,  page  402. 


30  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

found  near  those  of  the  females,  and  Mr.  Enoch  believes  that  they  find 
their  way  into  the  female's  quarters  the  same  night  that  they  emerge  from 
their  own  nests. 

VI. 

Darwin  learned  from  Mr.  Blackwall  that  he  had  not  seen  the  males  of 

any  spider  fighting  together  for  the  possession  of  the  female.     He  further 

expresses  the  opinion  that,  judging  from  analogy,  it  is  not  prob- 

^^^^  ^  ^  able  that  such  a  habit  exists,  for  the  males  are  generally  much 
Males.  ,1        ,  -,       r        ^  ■  1-1 

smaller  than  the  females,  sometimes  to  an  extraordmary  degree. 

Had  the  males  been  in  the  habit  of  fighting  together,  Mr.  Darwin  argues, 
they  would,  it  is  probable,  have  acquired  greater  size  and  strength. ^  But 
later  observers  have  been  more  fortunate  than  Blackwall,  and  their  obser- 
vations reverse  the  judgment  of  Darwin.  We  now  know  that,  as  with  many 
other  animals,  the  mating  period  of  spiders  is  marked  by  frequent  and 
vigorous  conflicts  among  the  males,  who  are  thus  not  only  exposed  to  peril 
from  the  voracity  of  their  mates,  but  also  from  the  jealousy  of  their  rivals. 
It  might  indeed  seem,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  number  of  males  may  be 
found  at  one  time  quietly  hanging  about  the  lady's  bower,  that  they  are 
not  a  very  combative  generation.  Doubtless,  the  males  of  Sedentary  species 
do  have,  occasionally,  to  secure  their  marital  rights  by  battle.  But  such 
combats  are  probably  far  less  frequent  than  among  the  Wanderers.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  conditions  are  such  that  it  is  not  so  easy  for  them  to  come 
in  personal  contact  with  one  another.  When  several  Orbweavers  attend 
one  female  they  prefer  different  parts  of  the  web,  and  even  when  I  have 
seen  them  grouped  tolerably  near  one  another  they  showed  no  disposition 
to  quarrel. 

With  the  Wandering  tribes  the  conditions  are  different  and  such  as  to 
compel  personal  contact  with  rivals,  and  thus  it  may  be  that  a  more  com- 
bative habit  has  grown  up.     This  is  well  illustrated  by  the  obser- 
Salti-  . 

,  vations    of    Professor  and   Mrs.    Peckham   upon   the   Saltigrades. 

grade  .  .  r 

Quarrels.  These  naturalists  have  given  a  number  of  interesting  and  valu- 
able notes  upon  the  combats  between  males.  The  various  atti- 
tudes were  both  photographed  and  figured  from  Nature,  and  as  a  result 
we  have  not  only  attractive  descriptions  but^  characteristic  illustrations. 
Some  of  these  I  have  copied.  The  males  of  our  little  Zebra  spider, 
Epiblemum  scenicum,  which  -may  be  seen  in  the  early  spring 
Bpible-  skipping  about  on  walls,  fences,  and  outhouses,  were  found  fight- 
sceni  "^^   ^^   ^   brick   wall.     They  held  up  the  first  pair  of  legs  and 

cum.  moved   rapidly  in  front  of  each  other,   now  advancing  and  now 

retreating   in  a  half   circle,  distant  from   each   other   about  four 
and  a  half  inches.     There  was  little  real  earnestness  in  the  affair,  and  it 


Descent  of  Man,  Vol.  II.,  chapter  ix.,  page  329,  Amer.  Ed. 


WOOING  AND  MATING.  31 


reminded  one  of  the  bluster  of  two  boys  each  threatening  and  daring  the 
other,  and  neither  willing  to  be  the  aggressor.  In  a  few  minutes,  however, 
they  both  wandered  away.^ 

Several  males  of  a  species  of  Icius  when  placed  within  boxes  proved  to 
be  very  quarrelsome,  and  had  frequent  fights,  but  were  never  found  to  be 

injured.  Indeed,  after  having  watched  hundreds  of  similar  bat- 
^^^®"  ties  between  the  males  of  this  and  other  species,  Professor  Peck- 
Duels         ham  has  reached  the  conclusion  that  they  are  sham  affairs,  gotten 

up  for  the  purpose  of  displaying  before  the  females,  who  com- 
monly stand  by,  interested  spectators.    This  harmless  nature  of  the  conflicts 
of  spider  duelists  is  in  accordance  with  my  own  observations,  and  also  in 
accord  with  the  few  statements  that  have  been  made  by  other  observers. 
The  males  of   Dendryphantes  capitatus  are  very  quarrelsome — sparring 

whenever   they   meet,  chasing   each   other   about,  and   sometimes 
®^  ^^'    clinching.     The   Peckhams   put   eight  or  ten  males   into   a  box, 

and   they  fought;    and,    although   it   seemed   cruel   sport,  it  was 

soon  apparent  that   they  were  very  prudent  little  fellows,  and  were  fully 

conscious  that — 

"  He  who  fights  and  runs  away 
Will  live  to  fight  another  day." 

In  fact,  after  two  weeks  of  hard  fighting,  the  observers  were  unable  to 
discover  one  wounded  warrior.  When  approaching  for  combat  the  males 
hold  the  first  legs  up  in  a  vertical  direc- 
tion. Sometimes  they  drop  the  body  upon 
one  side,  as  they  jump  about  each  other. 
These  movements  are  very  quick,  and  they 
are  always  ready  for  a  passage  at  arms.^ 
Two  males  of  Zygoballus  bettini,  while 
executing  a  dance  before  a  female,  engaged 
in  a  quarrel.     They  ran  savage- 

bluus.  ^^    '^P'^^    ^^''^.   ""^^^"^    ^''^.  ^"""^^^^     FIG.  11.     Position  of  two  male  Saltigrades, 

twenty-two    minutes,     during    one        Zygoballus  bettini,  when  fighting.    (After 
1  -     .  T       1       1    J-  •  -J.  Peckham.) 

round  remaining  clinched  tor  six  minutes. 

When  fighting,  the  abdomen  is  held  nearly  at  a  right  angle  with  the 
cephalothorax.  (Fig.  11.)  The  combatants  appeared  tired  at  the  close  of 
the  battle,  but  after  a  short  rest  were  perfectly  well  and  fought  a  number 
of  times  subsequently.^ 

Several  males  and  females  of  Philseus  militaris  were  placed  together 
in  a  box.  Among  the  males  was  a  large  fellow,  who  proved  to  be  a 
universal  bully.     In  the  course  of  time  another  male,  almost  his  size,  was 


^  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection  in  Spiders  of  the  Family  Attidse.    Occas.  Papers  Nat. 
Hist.  Soc.  Wis.,  Vol.  I.,  1889,  page  39. 

2  Peckham,  id.,  page  45.    .       ^  Idem,  page  48. 


32  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

introduced,  and  he  also  adopted  the  role  of  a  bully.  After  driving  his 
smaller  companions  about  for  a  time,  he  was  engaged  in  devouring  a  gnat, 
when  the  original  bully  emerged  from  some  leaves,  got  sight  of 
FJiilaeus  ^j^^  newcomer,  and  at  once  approached,  bristling  with  pride  and 
ire.  His  first  legs  were  raised  high  as  if  to  strike,  his  palps 
vibrated  with  excitement,  his  abdomen  dragged  first  on  one  side  and  then 
on  the  other.  Number  Two  was  evidently  of  good  courage,  for  he  held 
his  ground  and,  not  relinquishing  the  gnat,  raised  his  legs  and  clinched 
with  his  antagonist.  The  battle  raged  for  five  minutes,  and  resulted  in 
Number  One  robbing  his  antagonist  of  his  dinner  and  chasing  him  igno- 
miniously  away.  For  several  days  following,  life  in  the  mating  box  was 
robbed  of  its  monotony  by  perpetual  battles  among  the  males.  The 
females,  in  eluding  them,  jumped  and  suspended  themselves  from  threads. 
On  one  occasion,  the  big  bully  who  had  now  lost  his  mate,  invaded  the 
home  of  the  lesser  bully  while  the  owner  was  out  seeking  food.  The  first 
time  this  happened  the  rightful  proprietor,  upon  his  return,  ejected  the 
invader   without  ceremony.      The   second    time  the   two   had   a   prolonged 

struggle,  clinching,  and  falling  thus  hooked 
together  a  distance  of  about  twelve  inches, 
the  height  of  the  box.  (Fig.  12.)  Some  time 
afterward  the  two  males  wandered  about, 
fighting  whenever  they  met.^ 

These  notes  give  a  brief  picture  of  the 
general   character  of  the   observa- 
■^^^'  tions  made  by  Professor  Peckham. 

FiG^i2.  Position  in  battle  of  two  males  of    nacity :      rj^^      indicate,  first,  that  the  males 

Philaeus  militaris.    (After  Peckham.)  Summary  "^  ' 

after  maturity,  and  during  the 
mating  season  especially,  are  addicted   to  frequent  quarrels. 

Second,  their  mode  of  combat  consists  in  thrashing  each  other  with  their 
fore  legs,  clinching  with  the  mandibles,  tugging  and  dragging  each  other 
about,  and  generally  tumbling  and  scratching  one  another  with  their  claws. 

Third,  these  conflicts,  although  they  present  the  appearance  of  extreme 
ferocity  and  deadly  purpose,  rarely,  if  ever,  result  fatally. 

Fourth,  the  females  are  usually  disinterested  witnesses  of  the  duels  be- 
tween their  attendants,  although,  in  point  of  fact,  the  victorious  rival  re- 
ceives whatever  favors  she  may  have  to  bestow. 

Fifth,  the  combativeness,  or,  at  least,  -the  actual  combats  of  male  spiders 
are  much  more  frequent  between  the  Wanderers,  who,  by  reason  of  their 
errant  mode  of  life,  necessarily  come  into  close  contact  with  one  another 
during  their  rival  courtships.  The  habits  of  the  Sedentary  tribes,  which 
keep  them  stationary  at  fixed  points  of  the  snare,  tend  to  hold  the  males 
separate  from  one  another,  and  thus  conduce  to  peace. 

^  Idem,  pages  52,  53. 


WOOING  AND   MATING.  33 


Combativeness  among  spiders  is  not  limited  to  males;  the  females  also 
fight,  and  with  great  ferocity,  not  only  with  one  another,  but  with  the  op- 
posite sex.  Professor  and  Mrs.  Peckham  have  contributed  to  our 
ema  e  knowledge  of  this  trait  as  displayed  by  females  among  the  At- 
iveness  tidae,  to  which  brilliant  family  their  studies  have  been  chiefly 
directed.  They  found  that  the  females  are,  with  few  exceptions, 
larger,  stronger,  and  much  more  pugnacious  than  the  males.  They  placed 
two  females  of  Phidippus  morsitans  together  in  a  glass  jar.  No  sooner 
did  they  observe  each  other  than  both  prepared  for  battle.  Eyeing  one 
another  with  a  firm  glance,  they  slowly  approached,  and  in  a  moment  were 
locked  in  deadly  combat.  Within  a  few  seconds  the  cephalothorax  of  one 
was  pierced  by  the  fang  of  the  other,  and  with  a  convulsive  tremor  it  re- 
laxed its  hold  and  fell  dead.  In  all,  four  females  were  placed  together, 
and  in  each  instance  the  fight  was  short,  but  to  the  death.  Subsequently, 
the  observers  admitted  a  well  developed  male,  which,  though  smaller,  was 
compactly  built  and  apparently  strong  enough  to  bring  the  virago  to  terms ; 
but,  to  their  surprise,  he  seemed  alarmed  and  retreated,  trying  to  avoid 
her;  she,  however,  followed  him  up,  and  finally  killed  liim.  They  ob- 
served the  same  habits  in  Phidippus  rufus. 

In  Dendryphantes  elegans  the  female  is  nearly  a  third  larger  than  the 
male.  A  number  of  this  species,  males  and  females,  were  kept  together  in 
a  large  mating  box,  and  their  behavior  demonstrated  the  greater 
<qjuarre  -  qQarrelsomeness  of  the  females ;  they  would  frequently  go  out  of 
Females  tht^ii"  way  to  chase  one  another,  and  they  were  much  more  cir- 
cumspect in  approaching  each  other  than  were  the  males.  In 
Icius  mitratus  neither  sex  was  especially  pugnacious,  but  the  male  was  as 
little  so  as  the  female.  In  Synageles  picata  the  females  never  came  near 
each  other  without  some  display  of  hostility,  though  they  did  not  actually 
fight.  In  several  species  of  Xysticus,  as  ferox  and  gulosus,  the  females 
are  savage  and  ready  to  attack  anything  that  comes  in  their  way,  while 
the  males  are  smaller  and  more  peaceable.  ^ 

VII. 

From  these  more  general  facts  we  may  now  pass  to  the  detailed  descrip- 
tions of  the  act  of  conjugation  in  such  species  as  have  been  studied.  I  have 
never  been  fortunate  enough  to  observe  the  actual  pairing  of  Orbweavers, 
my  only  opportunities  of  study  having  been  with  Linyphia  marginata  and 
Agalena  nsevia.  I  am  therefore  dependent  upon  the  observations  of  others 
for  the  pairing  habits  of  the  Orbweavers. 

Termeyer,  nearly  a  century  ago,  thus  correctly  noted  some  points  in  the 

^  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection  in  Spiders  of  the  Family  Attidse,  by  George  W.  and 
Elizabeth  G.  Peckham,  pages  10,  11. 


34  AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


courtship  of   Epeira  diademata :     The  male  approaches  little  by  little  with 

much  caution,  doubtful  of  the  reception  which  he  is  to  meet  in  the  web 

of    the  female,    who   occupies    the    centre,  intent   only   on   her   prey.      He 

commences  by  touching  with  one  leg  a  thread  of  her  web.     The 

airmg      female  approaches  him.     He   flies,  allowing   himself  to  hang  by 

demata.     ^  dropline.     Soon  he  reascends,  being  assured  in   some  way  that 

he  will  not  be  ill  received.     Then  he  approaches  his  mate,  and 

with  one  of  the  palps  touches  her  abdomen  quickly  many  times.  ^ 

The  pairing  of  the  Diadem  spider  is  also  described  by  Menge.^     The  male 
accomplishes  his  approach  to  the  female  by  means  of  a  strong  thread  fast- 
ened immediately  above  her,  which  thread  is,  in  fact,  the  strongest 
Meng-e  s    ^j^g^^  ^le  spins.     This  becomes  his  love  bridge,  over  which  he  passes 
, .  with  trembling  and  uncertainty  as  to  his   reception,  his  feet   ex- 

pressing both  invitation  and  fear.  If  his  reception  is  friendly, 
he  passes  under  the  body  of  the  female,  with  his  fore  feet  folded  to  allow 
her  expanded  feet  to  encircle  his,  while  their  faces  and  partly  their  breasts 
touch.  He  now  quickly  touches  the  vulva  of  the  female  with  his  palps, 
and  instantly  drops  to  the  ground  by  a  thread ;  however,  he  soon  returns, 
and  the  deposition  of  the  semen  is  continued  until  finished.  During  Sep- 
tember, one  year,  Menge  observed  a  male  thus  approach  a  female  about 
twenty  times.  Finally  he  caught  the  ovipositor  or  hook  of  the  vulva,  de- 
taining the  same  and  turning  so  that  the  two  abdomens  and  their  adjoin- 
ing parts  touched,  and  the  posterior  parts  of  the  same  were  no  longer  sep- 
arated, but  pressed  closely  together.  The  connection  continued  for  over  a 
minute,  when  the  male  dropped  backwards  to  the  ground,  and  remained 
there  for  some  time  as  if  dead. 

Menge  also  observed  the  pairing  of  Epeira  marmorea  on  a  warm  August 

evening.     The  female  left  her  web  and  advanced  towards  the  male.     The 

movements  of  the  latter  were  very  careful,  and  when  sufficiently 

^  close  he  touched  the  vulva  of  the  female  in  passing,  and  instantly 

morea.       withdrew.     As  the  female  remained  quiet  and  did  not  attack  him, 

the  act  was  renewed  the  second  and  third  time.     The  -third  time 

the  female  retired  to  her  dwelling,  and  the  male  dropped  down  by  a  thread. 

The  pairing  of  Tetragnatha  extensa  has  been  described  by  several  writers. 

Lister,  the  pioneer  of  English  arachnology,  says  that  May  25th  at  sunset 

he   saw  the  pairing   of   many  spiders   of  this  species.     The  two 

th    ^^^^  sexes  were  suspended  by  means  of  a  thread   placed  upon  their 

tensa.         webs.     The  male  was  below,  having  his  body  stretched  upon  a 

straight    line.     The    body   of    the    female,   on  the  contrary,  was 

doubled,  and   her   abdomen  touched  the  fore  part  of  the  abdomen  of   the 

male.     He  continually  thrust  a  little  horn,  remarkable  by  its  tubercle,  upon 

^  Translation  of  Prof.  Wilder.    Proceedings  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  V.,  pages  71-3. 
*  See  Prussian  Spiders,  under  Epeira  diademata. 


WOOING  AND   MATING.  35 


tlie  superior  part  of  the  abdomen  of  the  female.     The  feet  and  mandibles 
of  the  one  were  interlocked  with  those  of  the  other.  ^ 

Walckenaer  has  given  a  complete  and  graphic  description  of  the  loves 
of  Tetragnatha.  His  observation  was  made  on  the  26th  of  May,  when  the 
weather  was  serene  and  moderately  warm.  A  male  was  stationed  under  a 
quite  large  orbweb  spun  in  an  inclined  position.  The  female  was  below, 
suspended  by  the  hindermost  feet.  Her  body  was  bent  double,  her  abdo- 
men in  a  sense  horizontal,  so  that  her  cephalothorax  was  bent 
°®  back  upon  the  male  in  a  vertical  position.     Her  fore  feet  were 

entangled  in  the  fore  feet  of  the  male,  but  gently  and  without 
stiffness.  Her  mandibles  were  opened,  as  were  also  those  of  the  male,  and 
the  extremities  were  supported  one  upon  the  other,  and  presented  the  form 
of  a  trapeze,  like  the  four  open  blades  of  two  pairs  of  scissors  if  joined 
at  their  points.  The  male  had  his  body  stretched  upon  the  same  line  in 
a  horizontal  position,  but  reversed ;  that  is  to  say,  the  sternum  of  the 
cephalothorax  and  the  venter  or  lower  part  of  the  abdomen  were  turned 
towards  the  sky,  and  the  dorsum  or  back  towards  the  ground.  It  resulted 
from  this  position  that,  from  beneath,  the  male,  although  much 
-  A.^  ®  smaller  than  the  female,  appeared  to  surpass  her  in  length  by 
haK  of  his  abdomen.  Further  it  resulted  that  the  vulva  of  the 
female  fell  exactly  beneath  the  palps  of  the  male.  He  was  suspended  from 
his  snare  by  the  fore  feet,  which  were  entangled  in  those  of  the  female. 
His  two  hindermost  feet  were  posed  upon  the  abdomen  of  the  female,  and 
served  to  press  her  lightly  against  himself,  while  he  applied  the  palps  to 
the  vulva.  The  valve  of  the  palpal  bulb  during  the  act  of  pairing  was 
swollen,  brilliant,  and  the  color  of  yellow  amber. 

This  pairing  lasted  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  although  the 
observer  came  very  near  in  order  to  see  more  distinctly,  the  mates  did  not 
separate.  Once  he  touched  a  part  of  the  web  and  caused  it  to  vibrate. 
The  partners  recoiled,  but  still  remained  coupled.  The  female  then  made 
some  efforts  to  disengage  herself,  but  the  male  prevented  her.  The  ob- 
server's attention  was  diverted  at  this  point,  for  the  space  of  two  minutes, 
to  make  another  observation.  When  he  turned  his  eyes  again  upon  the 
pair,  only  the  female  remained ;  she  was  at  the  centre  of  her  snare  in  the 
accustomed  position,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  body  and  feet  stretched  out. 
The  male  had  disappeared,  and  was  searched  for  in  vain;  but  during  the 
search  Walckenaer  observed  another  female  engaged  in  spinning  her  snare 
while  another  male  waited  upon  an  adjoining  branch. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  account,  which  describes  the  entire  pro- 
cess, that,  making  allowance  for  less  skill  in  observation,  the  English  ob- 
server had  correctly  seen  what  the  French  naturalist  so  correctly  reports. 
Lister,  however,  represents  the  male  as  stretched  below  the  female,  while 
Walckenaer  reverses  the  attitude. 

^  Lister,  Historise  Animalium  Angliae  (Araneorum  Anglise),  1678,  page  31. 


36 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Emerton,  in  his  chapter  on  the  growth  of  spiders/  presents  some  inter- 
esting facts  upon  pairing.     Two  of  these,  the  pairing  of  Linyphia  and  Ag- 
alena,  I  am  able  to   confirm,  from  my  own  observations,  as  sub- 
.      .  stantially  accurate.     According  to   this   author,  the  male  of  Argi- 

ope,  which  is  very  small,  stands  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  web, 
while  the  female  occupies  her  usual  position  in  the  centre.  After  feeling 
the  web  with  his  feet  for  some  time,  he  runs  down  the  centre  so  lightly 
as  not  to  disturb  the  female,  and  climbs  over  her  body  for  some  minutes 
in  an  apparently  aimless  way.  She  takes  no  notice  of  him  at  first,  but  at 
length,  especially  if  he  approach  the  under  side  of  her  abdomen,  she  turns 
and  snaps  at  him  with  her  jaws.  He  is  usually  nimble  enough  to  dodge 
and  drop  out  of  the  web.  Not  discouraged,  however,  he  climbs  up  to  the 
top  and  begins  over  again.  In  these  encounters  the  males  are 
often  injured.  They  frequently  lose  their  legs,  and  one  fellow 
was  seen  with  only  four  left  out  of  eight,  but  still  maintaining 
his  embrace.  At  length  the  male  succeeds  in  getting  under  his 
mate  and  inserts  his  palpi  under  her,  into  the  epigynum.  (Fig. 
13.)  In  the  meanwhile  the  female  hangs  in  the  web,  while  the 
male  holds  by  his  legs  to  the  under  part  of  her  abdomen.  (See 
Fig.  14.2) 

Mr.  Emerton  thus  describes  the  courtship   of  Epeira  sclope- 

taria.     The  approaches  of  the  male  were  always  seen  in   the 

evening,  just  before   dark,  when  the  females  usually 

Courtship  j-j^g^l^Q  or  repair  their  webs,  and  the  males  are  wander- 

,  ing   about  visiting.     The   male  would   climb  carefully 

sclope-  &  o  J 

taria  ^^^^  ^^^  edge  of  the  web,  and,  finding  that  the  female 

took  no   notice   of   him,  would   run   suddenly  towards 

Fig  13    Male  ^^  middle  of   the   snare,  on   the  side  opposite  to  that  occupied 

Argiopecoph-  by   the  female.     His   head  was  towards   her   head,  "and,   if  she 

cing  the  fe-  permitted  him  to  approach  near  enough,  he  would  slap  one  of 

male.   (After  j^jg  palps  upoii  her  epigyuum.     By  this  time   the  female  would 

strike  viciously  at  her  lover,  and   he  would   drop   suddenly  out 

of  the  web  by  the  usual  dragline.^ 

September  24th,  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Arduson,  Baron  Walckenaer 
found  a  reed,  the  leaves  of  which  were  spun  together  into  a  nest  by  Epeira 
apoclisa.  He  saw  the  male  of  this  species  mounting  towards  the  nest. 
Wishing  to  make  observations  at  his  leisure,  he  broke  the  reed  a  little  be- 
low the  place  where  the  male  stood,  and  carried  the  whole  to  his  chamber. 
The  male  did  not  attempt  to  run  away  or  quit  the  neighborhood  of  the 
nest.  Walckenaer  placed  the  reed  in  a  large  box.  The  following  morning 
he  saw  a  long  thread  stretched  and  the  female  issuing  from  her  nest  upon 


^  Structure  and  Habits  of  Spiders,  page  87. 
3  Letter  to  the  author,  October  17th,  1888. 


Drawn  by  Mr.  Emerton  for  this  work. 


WOOING   AND    MATING. 


37 


Fig.  14.    Arg^iope  cophinaria  embracing  the  female.     Snare  and  figures  about 
life  size.    The  male  is  seen  in  part  just  under  the  abdomen. 


38  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

the  border  of  the  box  and  in  the  act  of  pairing.     But  the  male,  forthwith 

frightened,  quitted  his  hold   and   ran  rapidly  away.     The  female,  on  the 

contrary,  remained   motionless.     The   observer  captured   the  two 

ainng-  o  ^^^  placed   them  in  a  covered  glass   bottle   with  the  nest  which 
Epeira  ^  ° 

apoclisa    ^^^  female  had  temporarily  abandoned  to  meet  her  partner.     He 

also  introduced  into  the  bottle  living  flies.  During  three  days  the 
mates  ceased  not  to  caress  each  other.  The  female  did  not  return  to  her 
nest,  but  kept  below  in  a  reversed  position.  The  male  approached  her 
from  the  side,  with  head  elevated,  stretched  out  his  feet  and  spread  them 
gently  and  slowly  upon  the  back  of  the  abdomen  of  the  female,  sometimes 
touching  the  fore  feet  with  his  own  by  a  slight  and  very  quick  movement. 
Then  the  female  leaned  to  one  side,  in  such  a  way  as  to  expose  her  venter, 
against  which  the  male  stretched  his  palps,  and  the  union  took  place  by 
means  of  the  palps.  It  was  between  5  and  6  A.  M.  when  this  act  occurred, 
and  it  was  repeated  many  times.  During  the  remainder  of  the  day  the 
couple  remained  separate.  The  female  rested  in  the  same  place  almost 
wholly  motionless,  without  doing  anything.  The  male,  more  lively,  more 
wandering,  more  active,  constructed  a  little  web,  placed  himself  in  the  mid- 
dle and  caught  some  flies.  Again,  he  sometimes  promenaded  the  glass, 
stretching  threads;  but  always  after  this  momentary  absence  he  returned 
to  a  position  in  front  of  his  spouse,  appearing  to  contemplate  her,  laid  his 
feet  against  her  own,  his  head  vis-a-vis  with  her  nead,  in  a  reversed  po- 
sition. 

Finally  the  female  constructed  a  tube  of  silk,  within  which  she  retired. 
The  male  penetrated  this ;   the  tube  was  large  enough  to  contain  the  two ; 

and  they  remained  therein  for  ten  days  in  perfect  harmony,  with- 
_  out  attempting  to  issue  from   their  love  bower.     During  all  this 

time  the  female  continued  to  rest  wholly  tranquil,  and  did  not 
attempt  to  escape.  It  was  not  so,  however,  with  the  male,  who  frequently 
wandered  abroad  into  the  bottle.  The  two  did  not  attempt  to  make  orbic- 
ular webs,  but  stretched  irregular  lines,  upon  which  they  caught  flies,  a  fact 
which  shows  that  spiders  are  able  to  adapt  themselves  and  their  industry 
to  various  circumstances.  On  the  twelfth  day,  October  4th,  the  female  Apo- 
clisa became  invisible,  and  it  was  observed  that  she  had  returned  to  her 
original  nest,  first  built  at  the  top  of  the  reed.  The  tube  was  abandoned  by 
her  and  remained  vacant.  The  male  did  not  attempt  to  rejoin  his  com- 
panion, but  wandered  about  the  glass,  occupied  in  seeking  an  opportunity 
to  escape  therefrom.  At  this  point  Baron  Walckenaer  was  compelled  to 
interrupt  his  observation.  ^ 

I  make  the  following  summary  of  the  various  stages  as  above  described : 
First,  the  female  comes  out  to  meet  the  liiale ;  second,  she  hangs  below  a 
few  stretched  lines,  with  her  back  downward ;   third,  the  male  touches  her 

^  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  pages  63,  64. 


WOOING   AND    MATING. 


39 


back  and  feet ;  fourth,  the  male  palpal  bulbs  are  applied  many  times  to  the 
epigynum ;  fifth,  the  embrace  ceases,  the  female  remains  stationary  in  the 
same  place,  the  male  wanders  about,  makes  a  straggling  web  and 
f  ^°^^^^  catches  flies ;  sixth,  the  male  comes  before  the  female,  touches  her 
'  feet,  and  remains  vis-a-vis ;  seventh,  the  female  makes  a  tube  and 
enters   it ;   eighth,  the   male   penetrates  the  tube ;   ninth,  the  pair  remain 
for  ten  days  domiciled  within  this  bower,  the  female   staying  persistently 
within,  the  male  making  frequent   excursions;   tenth,  on   the  twelfth   day 
the  female  leaves  the  tubular  bower  and  returns  to  her  leafy  nest;   elev- 
enth, the  male  makes  no   attempt  to  follow  her,  but  wanders  around  the 
bottle,  seeking  to  escape.     At  this  point  observation  ended,  but  there  was 
probably  nothing  further  to  observe. 

Zilla  callophylla   is   lacking   in   ferocity,  and   lives  on  good  terms  with 


Fig.  16. 


Fig.  17. 


Fig.  15. 

Argyroepeira  hortorum.    Fig.  15,  male ;  Fig.  16,  female ;  Fig.  17,  the  male  palps, 
much  enlarged.    (After  Emerton.) 


her  mate.  September  30th  a  male  and  female  of  this  species  were  taken 
by  Walckenaer,  and  placed  in  a  glass  bottle.  The  male,  after 
1  h  11  '  ^^^  ordinary  preliminary  caresses,  such  as  touching  with  the  ex- 
tended feet,  stretched  some  threads  in  the  manner  of  those  which 
served  the  female  to  descend  from  the  top  of  the  bottle  to  the  bottom,  where 
he  was.  Then,  by  the  movement  of  her  feet,  she  excited  her  spouse  to 
approach  her.  Every  part  of  the  male's  body  trembled  in  a  sensible  man- 
ner. He  advanced  towards  his  mate,  not  without  appearance  of  fear,  since 
she  received  him  with  open  mandibles.  Three  times  he  essayed,  always 
while  advancing,  to  introduce  the  genital  organ  of  one  of  his  palps  into 
the  vulva  of  the  female,  and  he  succeeded  at  the  fourth  attempt  with  the 
digital  bulb  of  his  left  palp.  Then  was  manifest  in  the  male,  as  in  the 
female,  a  convulsive  trembling  of  all  the  limbs  and  of  all  parts  of  the 
body,  which  evidently  announced  that  the  union  was  accomplished.     Four 


40  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

other  movements  of  the  same  nature,  separated  only  by  very  short  inter- 
vals, followed  the  first.  After  these  five  acts  of  union  the  male  retired  to 
a  short  distance. 

About  half  a  minute  afterwards  he  approached  as  on  the  first  occasion, 
introduced  the  bulb  of  his  right  palp  into  the  epigynum  of  the  female; 
then,  after  the  fifth  movement  of  convulsive  trembling,  he  again  retired. 
He  continued  in  this  manner  during  the  space  of  twenty  minutes.  In 
these  twenty  minutes  he  made  thirteen  embraces,  or  thirteen  introductions 
of  the  digital  bulb  of  one  of  his  palps  into  the  vulva  of  his  partner.  After 
these  acts  the  male  retired  and  went  away.  The  female  rested  for  about 
a  half  hour  in  the  same  position,  as  if  she  awaited  the  return  of  the  male, 
who  did  not  come  back.  Then  she  decided  to  remount  to  the  top  of  the 
bottle.  1 


^  Walckenaer,  Apt.,  Vol.  II.,  pages  71,  72. 


CHAPTER    II. 

COURTSHIP    AND    PAIRING    OF    THE    TRIBES:     LOVE    DANCES 

OF    SALTIGRADES. 

Having  thus  considered  the  methods  of  pairing  which  prevail  among 
Orb  weavers,  we  may  note  some  of  the  modes  which  obtain  among  repre- 
sentatives of  other  aranead  tribes. 


On  the  afternoon  of  June  14th  ^  I  witnessed  the  pairing  of  a  male  and 

female    of    Linyphia  marginata.      The  spiders   were    first    observed    at   a 

quarter  before  four  o'clock.     They  were  hanging  inverted  in  the 

Line-  dome   shaped   nest   of  the   species,  in   line  with  each   other  and 

weavers:  about    three-quarters   of    an    inch   apart.      Each   hung   within   a 

myp  la  gj^g^j^jgj.  ^qj^^q  which  was  formed  by  the  outspread  feet  drawing 

nata.  down  the  inner  surface  of  the  snare.     The  nest  was  Kung  from 

the   under   surface  of   a   plank    that  jutted   over  from  a  pile   of 

lumber,   and   was   about   two   and   a   half  feet  from   the  ground ;    so   that, 

seated  before  the  nest,  my  face  was  on  a  level  with  the  spiders. 

The  male  cautiously  extended  one  foot  towards  the  female,  and  pulled 
upon  the  intervening  threads.  I  turned  a  moment  to  adjust  the  block 
on  which  I  sat,  and,  on  looking  again,  the  two  were  in  embrace.  The 
female  was  suspended  as  before,  although  turned  at  right  angles  to  her 
first  position.  The  male's  head  was  laid  against  the  sternum  of  the 
female,  his  abdomen  inclined  a  little  upward,  the  fore  legs  interlocked 
with,  or,  rather,  interlaid  upon  those  of  the  female.  Both  spiders  hung 
by  threads,  in  the  normal  way.  (Fig.  18. 2)  This  was  nine  minutes  be- 
fore 4  P.  M. 

After  a  moment's  embrace  the  pair  separated ;  the  female  made  a  cir- 
cuit of  the  lower  part  of  the  dome,  moving  in  an  excited,  jerking  manner, 
then  returned  to  the  summit.  The  male  approached,  the  female  stretching 
out  her  fore  legs  somewhat  as  he  laid  his  fore  legs  within  them,  which  po- 
sition was  maintained,  as  was  the  relative  position  of  the  two,  during  the 
entire  period  of  union.  The  female,  during  the  act,  remained  perfectly 
motionless,  except  an  occasional  twitching  of  the  apex  of  the  abdomen. 

The  two  terminal  bulbs  upon  the  male  palps  were  laid  upon  the  epigy- 
num  of  the  female,  and  pressed  downward.     From  one  of  these  issued  the 

^  The  same  species  was  again  seen  pairing  in  August,  in  Connecticut. 
^  Drawn  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Emerton  for  this  work. 

(41) 


42 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


palpal  sac,  a  bean  shaped  organ,  of  a  bright  amber  color,  and  translucent, 
which  shone  brilliantly  in  the  sun  that  fell  full  upon  it  from  the  west.  It 
remained  thus  projected  for  a  brief  space,  held  between  the  finger  like  tufted 
horn  of  the  palpal  bulb,  and  was  then  gradually  contracted  and  withdrawn 
within    the    black    corneous    bulb,    which   was    meanwhile    pressed    eagerly 

against  the  vulva,  A  small  elbow  or  projection  upon  the  upper 
Use  of  pj^j.^  q£  ^y^q  bulb  seemed  to  press  within  the  spermatheca.  The 
T3  ,?  two  bulbs  were  laid  simultaneously  upon  the  epigynum,  but  the 

inflated  palpal  sac  appeared  in  but  one  bulb  at  a  time,  alter- 
nately.    There  was  a  prolonged  squeezing  motion  of  the  bulbs,  as  though 


Fig.  18.    Pairing  of  Linyphia  marginata.    The  figures  much  enlarged.    The  little  dome  caused  by 
the  pulling  down  of  the  feet  is  represented,  and  a  part  of  the  snare  proper. 

pressing  into  the  spermatheca,  and  at  times  a  corresponding  motion  in 
the  abdomen  of  the  female,  especially  at  the  apex.  With  this  exception 
the  female  remained  motionless  during  the  whole  period.  After  applica- 
tion  as  above  the  palpal  bulb  was  slowly,  for  the  most  part. 
Bulbs  ^^^  sometimes  rapidly  raised  by  the  male,  bent  upward,  and  ap- 
parently clasped  upon  the  falces  or  lower  margin  of  his  face, 
which  parts  of  course  were  upward.  Three  or  four  movements  back  and 
forth  in  this  clinched  position  followed,  when  the  series  of  motions  above 
described  was  repeated. 


PAIRING   OP   SPIDERS.  43 


In  the  meanwhile  the  second  bulb  remained  upon  the  other  tube  until 
the  first  bulb  began  to  descend,  when  it  in  turn  was  elevated  and  the 
same  motion  made.  As  the  bulb  descended,  its  sac  began  to  inflate  and 
ifesue.  This  process  was  quite  regularly  repeated.  Sometimes,  however, 
both  bulbs  were  clinched  upon  the  falces  at  the  same  time;  sometimes  the 
movements  of  the  bulb  were  more  rapid  than  at  others.  The  bulbs  had 
the  appearance  of  having  been  moistened  by  some  secretion,  presenting 
the  peculiar  gloss  which  a  colorless  liquid  gives  to  a  black  surface,  but  I 
could  see  no  secretion  otherwise,  although  I  was  able  at  any  time  to  use 
my  pocket  lens  wdth  the  exercise  of  a  little  care.^ 

At  twenty  minutes  before  six  o'clock  I  was  compelled  to  leave,  at  which 
time  the  pair  had  been  in  embrace  one  hour  and  forty-nine  minutes.  At 
six  o'clock  twenty-eight  minutes  I  returned,  and  found  the  pair  in 
„  „  .  precisely  the  same  positions.  I  remained  five  minutes,  and  then 
left  an  intelligent  young  man  at  the  post,  with  full  instructions  as 
to  points  of  observation.  He  reported  that  at  thirteen  and  a  half  minutes 
past  seven,  afternoon,  the  pair  parted  suddenly.  The  male  ran  down  to  the 
lower  margin  of  the  dome,  pursued  by  the  female,  who  stopped  suddenly 
just  above,  and  turned  back  to  the  central  point  in  the  summit.  Shortly 
after  receiving  this  report  I  visited  the  web,  and  found  the  female  sus- 
pended motionless  in  this  position,  and  the  male  at  the  point  to  which  he 
had  fled,  feeding  upon  a  small  fly.  The  next  morning  at  seven  o'clock  the 
female  was  in  the  same  position,  and  the  male  had  disappeared.  I  attempted 
to  capture  the  female,  but  she  ran  among  the  boards  and  escaped.  The  pair 
had  thus  been  in  union  two  hours  and  fifty-'five  and  a  half  minutes. 

During  this  period  they  were  separated  a  number  of  times.  Nineteen 
of  these  interruptions  were  noted ;  one  was  caused  by  a  small  fly  striking 
the  snare,  at  which  the  male  darted  in  a  fierce  manner,  but 
Interrup-  failed  to  seize,  as  the  fly  broke  loose  before  he  reached  it.  Others 
c  w^ere  caused  by  the  observer  touching  the  foundation  threads  or 

tions.  other  parts  of  the  web.  Toward  the  close  of  my  observations  I 
accidentally  broke  the  suspending  lines  nearest  me,  and  caused 
one  side  of  the  dome  to  fall  in.  This  made  only  a  momentary  interrup- 
tion. Many  of  these  separations  were,  however,  apparently  without  any 
extraneous  cause. 

Twice  the  male  ran  to  one  side  of  the  domed  snare,  made  a  web  at- 
tachment to  a  bit  of  leaf  hanging  therein,  drew  out  a  thread  about  two 
and  a  half  inches  long,  which  he  overlaid  a  couple  of  times,  and  then 
made  the  following  motion :  First,  the  body  was  placed  erect,  that  is,  back 
upwards,  and  was  moved  back  and  forth  along  the  line,  rubbing  the  points 
or  "nippers"  of  the  palps  at  the  same  time;   then  the  spider  swung  over 

^  I  did  not  at  the  time  suspect  that  the  palpal  bulb  might  have  been  applied  to  the  ab- 
dominal organ  of  the  male,  and  did  not  look  for  this  act.  But  subsequently  I  have  imagined 
that  such  might  have  been  the  case. 


44 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


until  the  body  made  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees  with  the  line, 
and  while  holding  on  thus  the  palps  were  rubbed  back  and  forth  alter- 
nately along  the  line  as  before.  The  process  was  repeated  during  another 
of  the  intermissions,  as  described  above.  It  was  conjectured  that  the  pur- 
pose of  this  movement  might  have  been  the  distribution  of  the  seminal 
fluid  into  the  palpal  bulbs.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  is  taken  up  by 
the  sacs,  by  the  inflation  and  contraction  of  whose  membraneous  coats  it  is 
forced  into  the  spermathecae  of  the  female. 

Mr.  Emerton  ^  observed  the  pairing  of  the  male  and  female  of  Steatoda 
borealis  in  April,  and  again  in  May.     The  female  was  in  a  scant  web  under 

a  fence  cap.  The  pair  stood  head  to  head,  as  far  apart  as  pos- 
,  ,.       sible.     The  left  palpus  was  kept  in  an  hour  and  a  quarter  after 

the  couple  were  first  seen.  The  male  contracted  his  body  sud- 
denly, and  swelled  up  the  base  of  the  palpal  oi^an  once  every  two  or  three 
seconds.  Two  days  afterwards  Emerton  saw  the  right  palpus  used  by  the 
same  pair  for  an  hour.  The  adult  males  and  feifiales  of  this  species  occur 
at  all  seasons,  differing  in  this  respect  from  many  others. 

11. 

Among  the  Tubeweavers  I  have  observed  the  pairing  of  our  common 
Speckled  Agalena.     The  male  cautiously  approaches  over  the  broad  sheeted 


Fig.  19.     Agalena  nsevia  pairing. 
Front  view.    (After  Emerton.) 


Fig.  20.     Agalena  naevia  applying 
the  right  palp  in  pairing. 


Fig.  21.    Agalena  applying  the 
left  palp  in  pairing. 


Tube 
■weavers 


web  which  forms  a  sort  of  front  yard  or  plaza  before  the  tube  in  which 
the  female  waits.  He  is  usually  larger  than  the  female,  and  is,  therefore, 
better  able  to  compel  a  respectful  reception.  In  the  act  of  union 
he  takes  his  partner  in  his  mandibles,  turns  her  upon  one  side, 
Agalena  ^^  which  position  she  lies  perfectly  motionless,  and  with  her 
legs  somewhat  doubled  together,  as  in  the  attitude  of  feigning 
death.  (Fig.  19)  The  male  rests  upon  the  side  of  the  female,  in  a  posi- 
tion nearly  at  right  angles  with  her  prostrate  body,  and,  while  holding 
her  still  with  his  fore  feet,  applies  the  palps  alternately  to  the  vulva. 
(See  Figs.  20,  21.) 


New  England  Therididse,  Trans.  Acad.  Conn.,  1882,  page  19. 


PAIRING  OP   SPIDERS.  45 


According   to  Walckenaer,   the   union   of   the   male   and   female   of   the 
European  Agalena  labyrinthea  takes  place  in  the  tube  which  serves  as  the 
dwelling  place  for  the  female.     In  France  this  act  occurs  about 
ga  ena    ^j^^  middle  of  July.     The  female  turns  herself  upon  her  side,  al- 
rinthea      niost  upon   the  broad   of   her   back.     The    male   places    himself 
upon  her  in   such  a  position  as   to  hide  from  the  observer   his 
head  and  cephalothorax.  ^     It  will  thus  be   seen  that  the  method  entirely 
corresponds  with  that  of  our  own  Agalena  naevia,  w^hich  this  familiar  Eu- 
ropean spider  so  closely  resembles. 

The  male  of  Clubiona  constructs  a  web  for  union  with  the  female,  and 
prepares,  as  one  may  say,  the  marriage  couch,  to  which  he  admits  the 
female  when  the  propitious  moment  has  come.^ 

The  interesting  habits  of  Argyroneta  aquatica,  the  well  known  Water 
spider  of  Europe,  were  first  fully  made  known  by  De  Lignac,  a  priest  of 

the  Oratoire,  Paris,  A.  D.  1748.^     He  not  only  observed  the  man- 
The  •  • 

-j^  ,  ner  of  making  the  nest  beneath  the  water   (Fig.  22),  which  has 

Spider.  been  frequently  confirmed  since,  but  also  the  act  of  pairing. 
When  the  male  wishes  to  pair,  says  De  Lignac,  he  constructs 
near  the  nest  of  the  female,  and  by  the  same  means,  a  nest  resembling 
that  of  his  spouse;  but  the  nest  is  somewhat  smaller.  When  the  male  has 
completed  the  construction  of  his  domicile,  he  makes  a  long  canal,  which 
joins  his  cell  to  that  of  his  spouse.  He  then  cuts  through  the  wall  of  the 
latter,  and  introduces  his  body  into  the  strange  apartment.  This  vehicle 
of  communication  being  made,  he  strengthens  it  on  the  roof  and  sides. 
He  plasters  this,  as  he  does  the  rest  of  his  aest,  with  silk,  white  and  im- 
permeable, and  thus  extends  this  corridor  until  it  may  be  as 
J  ,       large  as  the  two  apartments.     Sometimes  one  sees,  but  only  oc- 

Corridor.  casionally,  as  many  as  three  lodges,  which  communicate  with  each 
other.     As  these  cells  have  been  thus   easily  united,   they   also 
sometimes   separate,  as,  for  example,  when  they  are  too  lightly  united,  or 
by  the  movements  of  the  spiders  when  they  engage  in  combats,  for  it  ap- 
pears that  during  the  time  of  amour  they  are  somewhat  irascible.     Often- 
times one  sees  a  strange  spider  making  an  effort  to  enter  into  one  of  these 
lodges;   but  the  inmate,  who  keeps  its  feet  outside,  guards,  as  a  watchful 
sentinel,  the  safety  of  its  domicile,  and  drives  the  intruder  from  the  door. 
Baron  Walckenaer  confirmed  these  observations  of  De  Lignac  and  added 
some  interesting  details.     On  the  27th  of  July  he  placed  together 
Walck-      jjj  glass  vessels  males  and  females  of  Argyroneta.     On  the  fol- 
Q,  lowing  day  he  saw  in  one  of  the  silken  bells  woven  by  them  a 

tions.         male  caressing  the  female  with  his  feet,  and  carrying  his  palps 
to  her  abdomen.     The  two  spiders  were  then  upon  the  same  line. 


^  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  page  22.  ^  Walck.,  I.  Apt.,  page  143. 

^  L'Histoire  des  Araign^es  Aquatiques,  page  43.    De  Geer  in  Holland  as  early  as  1736  had 
observed  the  curious  industry  of  the  AVater  spiders. 


46 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


and  stood  face  to  face.  The  male  carried  his  head  under  the  body  of  his 
mate  in  a  reversed  position.  He  stepped  aside,  and  the  female  with  her 
feet  tickled  the  apex  of  his  abdomen. 

The  next  day  at  6  A.  M.  he  saw  a  little  web  constructed  by  one  of  his 
Argyronetas.  He  gradually  filled  the  bottle  with  fresh  water,  whereupon 
the  couple  began  to  work  with  extraordinary  activity,  and  in  less  than  an 
hour's  time  had  formed  a  cell  which  looked  like  a  bubble  of  air  and  had 
the  form  of  a  subterranean  vault.  The  male  and  female  kept  together. 
As   soon  as  the   cell  was  finished,  and  on  the   same   morning,  the  female 

made  a  web  at  the  surface  of 
the  plant  which  had  been  in- 
troduced into  the 

"^^^  bell  glass.     Much 

Cocoon.      ,     ,    ° ,  , 

to  the  baron  s  sur- 
prise, she  immediately  de- 
posited her  eggs  and  envel- 
oped them  in  a  silken  co- 
coon. The  cocoon  was  placed 
near  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and  upon  the  very  walls  of 
the  vessel.  The  eggs,  which 
were  of  a  beautiful  orange 
yellow,  could  be  seen  through 
the  fine,  white  tissue  of  the 
cocoon. 

July  29th,  at  six  o'clock 
morning,  Walckenaer  saw  the 
female  near  her  eggs ;  then 
she  ascended  to  the  surface 
and  dived.  The  male  joined 
himself  to  his  companion. 
The  two  spiders  -gently  rub- 
bed the  extremities  of  their 
anterior  feet  one  against  the 
other,  having  the  air  of  ca- 
ressing. Soon  this  movement  of  the  feet  became  more  brusque  and  ap- 
peared menacing.  The  male,  struck  by  the  feet  of  the  female,  suddenly 
leaped  aside,  but  the  pair  presently  sought  each  other  anew. 
They  interlaced  their  legs,  the  one  within  another,  and  gradually 
approached  nearer  and  nearer,  head  against  head.  The  man- 
dibles were  opened ;  they  flung  themselves  one  upon  another ;  afterwards 
recoiled,  separated  instantly,  and  sprang  aside  as  if  they  had  suddenly  been 
seized  with  fear.  Thereupon  the  female  returned  to  her  position  near  her 
eggs. 


Fig.  22.    The  subaqueous  nest  of  the  Water  spider,  Arg3n*oneta 
aquatica,  within  which  the  cocoon  is  woven. 


Caress 
ing. 


PAIRING  OF  SPIDERS.  47 


The  next  day  Walckenaer  renewed  the  water  in  the  vessels,  and  saw  the 
couple  approach  one  another,  lightly  touch  their  feet,  swim  without  stretch- 
ing out  any  thread  and  without  touching  the  insects  which  had 
m  rac-    -^^^^  placed  in  the  water  for  them,  but  which  were  all  dead.     At 
five  o'clock  in  the  evening  again  the  observer  saw  the  male  and 
female  upon  the  cocoon,  drawn  near  together,  the  feet  interlaced  and  mo- 
tionless.    On  opening  the  bottle  they  separated.     He  was  then  astonished 
to  observe  that  the  web  that  had  surrounded  the  cocoon  had  disappeared. 
Had  it  been  employed  to  strengthen  the  cocoon? 

The  cocoon  was  a  silken  flask,  attached  to  a  plant  by  a  short  pedicle. 

It  was  in  part  immersed  within  the  water.     It  was  rounded,  flat- 

„  tened,  about  three  lines  in  diameter,  was  formed  of  a  fine  thread 

Cocoon.  '  .  '.  -,  -,       Tnn  1 

01  a  very  compact  tissue,  thin  as  an  onion  peel,  and  diincuit  to 
tear.  It  contained  forty  eggs,  not  agglutinated,  globular,  of  a  pale  yel- 
low color. 

On  the  first  of  April  Walckenaer  again  observed  in  the  jar  where  the 
spiders  were  confined  a  little  bubble  of  air  and  a  web  larger  than  the 
former  had  been.  After  five  days'  absence,  April  6th  he  observed  that 
the  spiders  had  detached  the  cocoon,  in  order  to  sink  it  to  the  bottom  of 
the  bottle.  The  water  was  changed  in  the  vessel  and  immediately  they 
swam  about  with  delight,  refreshed  themselves,  reunited  near  the  cocoon, 
and  caressed  each  other  with  their  feet.  On  the  7th  of  April  he  decanted 
the  water  of  the  jar  into  a  cistern.  The  Argyronetas,  troubled  by  the 
sudden  movement  of  the  flood,  swam  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  female 
having  recovered  her  cocoon  in  the  midst  of  4,he  water,  seized  it,  embraced 
it  with  her  feet  and  sought  to  buoy  it  up. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  satisfactory  accounts  of  the  act  of  pair- 
ing among  Tubeweavers  is  given  by  Mr.  Campbell  from  observations  on 
Tegenaria  guyonii.^     The  male  was   placed  in  a  bottle  contain- 

ing  a  female  which  had  been  mature  for  a  fortnight.  He  was 
gniyonu.  ° 

left  within  the  vessel    in  which  he  had  been   lodged,   but  the 

cover  was  removed  therefrom.  Notwithstanding  the  glass  wall  which  sep- 
arated him  from  the  female,  he  soon  became  conscious  of  her  presence, 
and  issuing  from  his  own  quarters  approached  her.  The  following  morn- 
ing he  was  standing  with  the  first  pair  of  legs  over  the  female,  and 
his  maxillae  resting  on  her  abdomen,  while  she  was  crouching  motion- 
less, with  her  head  in  an  opposite  direction.  Both  were  in 
the  same  position  the  next  morning,  August  7th,  7  A.  M.  At 
■jyj.  ,  10   A.   M.   the   male    became    restless,   and   wandered    about  the 

bottle  with  spinnerets  extended,  returning  every  now  and  then  to 
place  his  palps  upon  the  female.     After  each  action  he  jerked  his  abdomen 

^  On  the  Pairing  of  Tegenaria  guyonii  Guer.,  with  a  Description  of  certain  Organs  in  the 
Abdominal  Sexual  Region  of  the  Male.  By  F.  Maule  Campbell,  F.  L.  S.  Linn.  Soc.  Jour. 
Zool.,  Vol.  XVI.,  page  163. 


48  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


upwards  and   downwards,   a  movement  which   often  may  be   observed   in 
males,  and  which  gives  an  idea  of  an  expression  of  impatience. 

The  next  observation,  after  a  few  minutes'  absence,  showed  the  male 
about  two  inches  behind  the  female,  standing  as  it  were  on  tiptoe.  His 
palps  were  placed  alternately  and  nervously  to  his  maxillae.  On  their  re- 
moval the  whole  body  was  raised  still  higher,  and  the  abdomen 
p^.®  °  brought  nearly  to  a  right  angle  with  the  cephalothorax,  with  con- 
siderable muscular  effort  in  the  basal  portion,  and  with  violent 
tremulations.  The  movements,  which  were  repeated  four  times,  had  the 
effect  of  throwing  the  spider  slightly  forward,  while  the  palps  were 
shaken  in  that  peculiar  manner  which  denotes  great  muscular  tension  in 
some  other  part  than  that  in  visible  motion.  The  palps  were  now  gener- 
ally alternately  placed  under  the  sternum  and  moved  backward  and  forward, 
upward  and  downward,  with  a  scooping  motion.  In  five  minutes  these  move- 
ments of  the  abdomen  and  palps  were  repeated  ten  times  in  regular  succes- 
sion, only  varied  by  an  occasional  transfer  of  the  digital  organs  to  the 
mouth. 

Mr.  Campbell  observed  thirteen  couples  pairing  in  confinement  from  the 

middle  of  July  to  the  end  of  August;   and  the  following  account  may  be 

taken  as  typical  of  the  species,  with  tjie  exception  that  the  union 

^'    ,        does  not  necessarily  occur  so  quickly  after  the  female  has  gained 
proacnes.  j  ~l  j  o 

maturity.  On  the  13th  of  August  he  placed  together  a  male  and 
female.  On  the  17th  the  latter  cast  her  last  skin.  Up  to  that  time,  6  A.  M., 
they  had  taken  no  notice  of  one  another.  At  9.45  P.  M.  the  two  were  so 
close  together  that  the  femora  of  the  first  pair  of  legs  of  each  were 
almost  in  contact.  After  a  few  convulsive  twitches  of  the  legs  the  male 
pressed  forward,  moving  his  palps  up  and  down,  when,  as  they  touched  the 
palps  of  the  female,  the  pair  played  with  these  organs  like  two  friendly 
bees  with  their  antennae.  After  a  few  minutes  the  female  raised  herself, 
leaning  a  little  on  her  left  side,  and  the  male  crept  forward  until  his  head 
was  under  the  sternum  of  his  mate,  while  his  first  pair  of  legs  were  rest- 
ing upon  hers.  He  then  advanced  his  right  palp,  leaning  a  little  to  the 
left,  and  using  the  left  palp  as  part  of  his  support. 

The  male  now  rapidly  raised  his  palps   up  and  down  for  four  or  more 
seconds,  and  with  such  energy  as  to  compel  the  female  to  assume  a  verti- 
cal position.     He  then  retired,  and  again  approached  her,  repeat- 
p  ,  ing  the  movements  a  greater  -or  less  number  of  times,  occasion-" 

ally  pausing  before  he  withdrew  his  palps  with  a  slight  twist 
inwards.  At  times  he  would  leave  the  female  for  five  minutes,  and  strut 
with  straightened  legs  around  the  vase,  wagging  his  abdomen.  Now  and 
then  he  would  remain  perfectly  still  with  the  palp  withdrawn,  or  play  with 
the  palps  of  the  female,  who  seemed  in  a  comatose  state.  He  would  then  re- 
new the  union  with  undiminished  vigor,  appearing  on  each  occasion  less 
desirous  of  changing  his  position. 


PLATE 


COLORS   OF   EPEIRA  TRIFOLIUM. 
1-9,  Variations  in  color  of  females.      10-11,  The  male. 


PAIRING   OF   SPIDERS. 


49 


The  observer  left  them  at  12.30  A.  M.  and  returned   at  7  A.  M.     The 

male  was  still  using  his   right  palp.     He  saw  no   application  of  the  left 

palp,  but  had  no  doubt  that  it  was  employed  during  the  night, 

mpreg-     ^^  -^  other  cases.     He  had  never  observed  the  pairing  interrupted 

for  a  fresh  collection  of  semen,  although   there  is  no   reason  to 

think  that  this  may  not  occur.     The  duration  of  the  pairing  is  long,  but 

he  was  inclined  to  think  it  is  more  dependent  on  the  difficulty  in  inserting 

the  embolos  than  on  sexual  endurance. 


III. 

The  pairing  of  Xysticus  trivittata  Keyserling  has  been  briefly  described 
by  Mr.  Emerton,  and  figured.^  The  spiders  were  seen  on  the  5th  of  June 
among  the  short  grass  in  an  open  pasture 
in  New  England.  The  female  held  herself 
head  downward  on  a  blade  of 
Pairing  of  gp^gg^  ^j^j^  ^j^^  abdomen   turned 

,  away  only  enough  for  the  male 

grades.  "^  ,  . 

to  reach  under  it  with  his  palps. 

There  did  not  appear  to  have  been  any  web 

on  the  grass,  though  there  may  have  been 

a  few  threads  for  the  female  to  hold  by. 

Among  Lycosids  we  have  the  descrip- 
tion given  by  one  of  the  earliest  natural- 
ists,  Clerck,   the    Swedish    observer.  ^      He 

.  ,         .saw  the   pairing  of   Lycosa  sac- 

T         ?,     cata  about  the  middle  of  June, 
Lycosids.  ' 

upon  a  rock  exposed  to  the  sun. 
The  two  sexes  approached  by  jumps,  which 
became  fewer  and  slower  as  they  drew  near. 
The  male  ended  these  preliminary  stages 
of  courtship  by  suddenly  leaping  upon  the 
female.  He  then  passed  one  of  his  palps  un- 
der her  abdomen,  and,  holding  and  inclin- 
ing her  body  with  the  other,  inserted  first 
one  and  then  the  other  palp.  When  the 
pairing  was  ended,  the  two  sexes  separated  fjo-  23.   The  pairing  of  the  Laterigrade 

-  ,  ,  1  Q      species,  Xysticus  trivittata.  (From  Nature.) 

and  promptly  ran  away  from  one  another.^ 

Emerton  *  says  of  the  same  family  that  the  male  leaps  upon  the  back 
of  the  female,  and  is  carried  about  by  her.  He  reaches  down  at  the  side 
of  her  abdomen  and  inserts  his  palps  into  the  epigynum  underneath.     The 


'  Psyche,  Vol.  V.,  1889,  page  169. 

2  Clerck,  Aran.  Svec,  pages  91,  92,  pi.  4,  Tab.  5,  Figs.  1,  2,  male. 

^  Walck.,  Apt.,  I.,  page  328.  *  Habits  and  Structure,  page  95. 


50  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


accuracy  of  the  early  observation  made  by  Clerck  is  thus  abundantly  con- 
firmed. The  attitude  of  Lycosa  is  represented  in  Fig.  24,  which  has  been 
drawn  from  Nature  for  this  work  by  Mr.  Emerton. 

Among  the  Attidas,   De  Geer  has  described  the  pairing  of   Epiblemum 
scenicum  (Attus  scenicus),  which  occurred  upon  a  wall.     The  male  mounted 

upon  the  body  of  the  female,  passing  over  her  head  towards  her 
Aff-A^^  °  abdomen,  under  which  he  advanced  one  of  his  palps.     He  gently 

raised  the  abdomen  by  upward  pressure  of  his  legs,  and  then  ap- 
plied the  extremity  of  his  palp  to  the  vulva.  An  instant  afterward  the  two 
spiders  separated  and  removed  a  little  distance  from  one  another.  The  male 
did  not  wait  long  before  again  approaching,  and  he  repeated  many  times  the 
action  above  described.  The  female  did  not  offer  the  slightest  opposition, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  seemed  to  greatly  enjoy  the  act.^ 

IV. 

The  mating  of  the  Attoids,  as  told  in  the  delightful  pages  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Peckham's  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection  in  Spiders,  presents  one 

of  the  most  important  chapters  in 
the  life  history  of  araneads.  It 
is  a  strange  and  interesting  story, 
a  romance  of  natural  history  as 
fascinating  as  any  love  story  of 
modern  fiction.  These  accom- 
plished arachnologists,  who  have 

Fig.  24.    Male  of  Lycosa  saccata  embracing  the  female.         Carried     OU     all     tlicir     StudicS    to- 
From  Nature.    (Drawn  by  Emerton.)  ,  ,  .  •    ^       , , 

gether,  have  given  special  atten- 
tion to  the  Saltigrades,  and  they  were  led  into  the  study  of  the  courtship 
of  these  interesting  creatures  by  a  desire  to  solve  some  of  the  current 
problems  in  natural  and  sexual  selection.  Independent  of  this,  the  facts 
recorded  are  extremely  valuable. 

The  first  group   of   observations  uncovered   the  habit  of   the  males  to 
exhibit  themselves  before  the  females  in  a   series   of   varied   movements, 

which  may  be  generally  characterized  as  dancing.  The  purpose 
Love  q£  ^j^jg   appears  to  be,  beyond  doubt,  to  attract  the  attention  of 

the  Males  ^^^^  female,  and  render  her  complaisant  to  the  addresses  of  her 

lover.  The  courtship  of  Saitis  pulex  was  thus  conducted :  The 
male,  when  placed  in  a  box  with  a  mature  female,  at  once  observed  her, 
although  she  was  twelve  inches  away.  At  the  distance  of  four  inches  he 
stood  still,  and  then  began  the  most  remarkable  performances  that  an 
amorous  male  could  offer  to  an  admiring  female.  She  eyed  him  eagerly, 
changing  her  position  from  time  to  time,  so  that  he  might  always  be  in 
view.     He,  in  the  meantime,  extended  the  fore  legs  upon  one  side  of  the 

^  De  Geer,  L'Hist.  des  Insectes,  page  90. 


LOVE    DANCES   OP   SALTIGRADES.  51 

body  in  such  wise  as  to  elevate  that  side  and  correspondingly  to  depress  the 

other.     The  legs  and  palpus  of  the  lower  side  were  folded  under,  and  upon 

these  the  spider  sidled  along,  moving  in  a  semicircle  for  about  two  inches. 

He   then   instantly  reversed   the   position   of    the   legs,   and   circled   in   the 

opposite  direction,  gradually  approaching  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  female 

in  the  course  of  these  oscillations. 

The  female  dashed  toward  him,  while  he,  raising  his  first  pair  of  legs, 

extended  them  upward  and  forward,  as  if  to  hold  her  off,  but  withal  slowly 

retreated.     Again  he  began  his  oscillating   movements   until   one 

,  hundred   and   eleven  circles   had  been   counted.     The  female  in 

pulex. 

the  meanwhile  gazed  toward  him,  apparently  in  a  softer  mood, 
evidently  admiring  the  grace  of  his  antics.  When  he  had  approached 
almost  within  reach  of  her,  he  whirled  madly  around  and  around  her, 
she  joining  and  whirling  with  him  in  a  giddy  maze.  He  then  fell  back, 
and  resumed  his  semicircular  motions,  with  his  body  tilted  over.  She,  all 
excitement,  lowered  her  head  and  raised  her  body,  so  that  it  was  almost 
vertical.  The  two  then  drew  nearer.  The  female  moved  slowly  under 
the  male,  he  crawling  over  her  head,  and  the  mating  was  accomplished.^ 
A  male  of  Synagales  picata  executes  his  love  dance  with  all  his  feet 
on  the  ground.  He  raises  himself  on  the  tips  of  the  six  hindermost  legs, 
but  slightly  inclines  his  head  downward  by  bending  his  front 
Love  }ggg^  their  convex  surface  being  always  turned  forward.     His  ab- 

„  domen  is  lifted  vertically,  so  that  it  is  at  a  right  angle  to  the 

gales.  plane  of  the  cephalothorax.  In  this  position  he  sways  from  side 
to  side.  After  a  moment  he  lowers  the  abdomen,  runs  a  few 
steps  nearer  the  female,  and  then  tips  his  body  and  begins  to  sway  again. 
Now  he  turns  in  one  direction,  now  in  another,  pausing  every  few  moments 
to  rock  from  side  to  side,  and  to  bend  his  brilliant  legs  so  that  she  may 
look  full  at  them.  He  could  not  have  chosen  a  better  position  than  the 
one  he  took  to  make  a  display,  and  the  observers  were  impressed  by  the 
fact  that  the  attitude  taken  by  the  males  served  perfectly  to  show  off  their 
fine  points  to  the  female.'^ 

Marptusa  familiaris  is  an  Attus  of  sombre  gray  and  black  colors,  that 
may  be  frequently  found  on  trees,  fences,  and  like  positions  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Philadelphia.  It  is  apparently  a  widely  distributed 
Wooing  species.  When  the  two  sexes  were  placed  together,  the  female 
^  ^^^  saw  the  male  as  he  entered  at  the  opposite  side  of  the  box,  thir- 
familiaris.  ^^^^  inches  away.  Eyeing  him  attentively,  she  slowly  changed 
her  position  to  keep  him  in  sight,  and  kept  her  palps  moving 
rapidly,  a  characteristic   action  of   the  species.     As  the  male  neared  her, 

1  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection  in  Spiders  of  the  Family  Attidse.  By  George  AV.  and 
Elizabeth  G.  Peckham.  Occasional  Papers  of  the  Natural  History  Society  of  Wisconsin, 
Vol.  I.,  1889. 

*  Idem,  page  43. 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Gaudy 
Colors 


he  stretched  the  first  and  second  pairs  of  legs  sidewise,  but  after  a  moment 
backed  away.  These  manoeuvres  were  repeated  many  times,  the  attitude 
assumed   during  them  being  as  represented  by  Fig.  25.     Occasionally  he 

would  bend  the  tip  of  the  abdomen 
down,  lifting  the  body  up  on  the 
last  joints  of  the  two  hindermost  legs. 
The  female  always  paid  the  greatest 
attention  to  his  movements,  lying  on 
the  ground  with  all  the  legs  flattened 

Fro.  25.    Positions  in  courtship  of  Marptusa  familiaris.     and     the     palpi     slightly    raiscd,     the 
Male  on  the  right  hand.    (After  Peckham.)  ^^^^   mOVCmCUt   visiblc  being    the    vi- 

bration  of  the  palps.  There  is  a  certain  slowness  and  dignity  about  the 
wooing  of  this  species,  almost  ludicrous.  ^ 

The  males  of  Dendryphantes  capitatus  approach  the  female  rapidly, 
until  within  two  to  five  inches,  when  they  stop  and  extend  the  legs  di- 
rectly forward  close  to  the  ground,  the  legs  being  slightly  curved,  with  the 

tips  turned  up.  This  position  serves  admirably  to 
^_  Tl^^  expose  the  whole  of  the  bronze  and  white  face 
(Fig.  26)  to  the  attentive  female,  who  watches  him 
closely  from  a  little  distance.  As  the  wooer  grows 
more  excited,  he  lies  down  on  one  side,  with  his  legs  still 
extended.  These  antics  are  repeated  for  a  very  long  time, 
even  for  hours,  before  the  female  accepts  his  addresses. 

The  male  of  Habrocestum  splendens  is  a  magnificent  fel- 
low, having  an  abdomen  of  glowing  pink,  and  bronze  ceph- 
alothorax  tinted  with  reddish  brown.  He  began  his  addresses  by  advanc- 
ing a  few  inches  towards  the  female  and  then  backing  oif  again. 
This  movement  was  repeated  many  times.  After  awhile  he  set- 
tled down  under  a  little  web  in  a  corner.  The  female,  troubled 
by  this  indifferent  treatment,  advanced  toward  him,  whereupon 
he  came   out  and   she  fell   back.     This  play  was  kept  up  for  some  time, 

and  at  length  the  male  began  his  courting  in 
earnest.  When  within  a  few  inches  of  her,  he 
commenced  a  rapid  dance  from  side  to  side, 
raising  the  whole  body  high  on  the  tips  of  the 
legs,  the  first  pair  being  directed  forward,  and 
the  palps  clasped  together,  with  the  abdomen 
turned  to  one  side  and  lifted  up.     (Fig.  27.) 

After  a  short  dance  he  stood  motionless, 
striking  an  attitude  as  shown  in  the  figure,  re- 
maining quiet  for  half  a  minute.  Then  he  turned  his  back  on  the  female, 
moving   irregularly  about  with  his   legs  forward   and   his   palps  vibrating. 


Fig.  26.  Bronze 
and  white  face 
of  Dendryphan- 
tes. Male.  (Af- 
ter Peckham.) 


Habro- 
cestum 
splendens 


Fig.  27.  Male  Saltigrade,  Habroces- 
tum splendens,  when  approaching 
female.    (After  Peckham.) 


'  Idem,  page  44. 


LOVE    DANCES    OF    SALTIGRADES. 


53 


Color 
Evolu 
tions. 


Philseus 
militaris. 


Fig.  28.  Position  of  male 
Philseus  militaris  when  ap- 
proaching the  female.  (Af- 
ter Peckham.) 


Again  he  danced  sidewise  before  her,  strutting  and  showing  off  like  a 
peacock,  whirling  around  and  around.  Professor  Peckham  at  first  supposed 
that  this  turning  around  was  accidental,  but  it  hap- 
pened so  regularly  at  a  certain  stage  of 
courtship,  that  he  concluded  that  it  was  an 
important  part  of  his  display,  serving  the 
better  to  show  his  brilliant  abdomen.^ 
In  approaching  the  female  the  males  of  Phila)us 
militaris  were  very  eager  and  fairly  quiv- 
ered with  excitement.  The  first  two  legs 
were  raised  over  the  head  and  curved  toward 
each  other,  so  that  the  tips  nearly  met,  and  the  palps 
were  moved  up  and  down.     (Fig.  28.) ^ 

Astia  vittata  is  peculiar  in  the  fact  that  it  has  two  well  marked  male 
forms,  which  .shade  into  each  other,  but  maintain  at  least  one  characteristic 

distinction,  namely,  three  tufts  of  hair  which  mark 
the  black   form,  niger.     Mrs.    Peckham  was  kind 
enough  to  send  me  a  box  in  which  were  packed 
a  number   of   specimens  of   the  female 
and  both  varieties  of  the  male,  in  order 
that   I   might  witness   these   remarkable 
courtship  dances.     This  was  prior  to  the 
receipt  of  the  work  from  which  I  have  been  quot- 
ing, and  I  had  but  a  hint  of  what  I  might  expect, 
and  how  best  to  proceed.     Moreover,  my  specimens 
ii        unfortunately,    arrived    in    a    bad    condition.     All 
^        were  dead  except  one  female  and  two  males,  and 
FIG.  29.  Male  Astia  vittata  in  dano-   the  latter  WGTG  much  dilapidated,  one  of  them  par- 

I 


Dervish 
Dance  of 
Astia. 


ing  position  before  female.  (From   ticularly  being  apparently  in  a  dying  condition. 

succeeded,  however,  in  resuscitating  both  males  by 
doses  of   water   and   good   nursing.     One  of  them 
in  a  short  time  seemed  quite  well. 

I  placed  the  three  together  in  a  box,  and  had 
the  privilege  of  observing,  in  some  degree,  what 
the  Peckhams  have  so  fully  described.  The  most 
lively  male  at  once  began  animated  movements, 
which  were  evidently  induced  by  the  presence  of 
the  female,  who,  however,  ran  away  and  kept  cir-     ,/.  ^  ^r^.^A,-?' 

cling  around  the  box,  running  over  the  walls  and   p,^.  30.  The  male  of  Astia  vituta 
climbing   upon   the   glass   cover    without   showing     ^^  ^^^  act  of  vaulting  during  a 

, .  •  J  •  ,  1,1  1  1  lave  dance.    (From  Nature.) 

any  disposition  to  respond  to  the  advances  made. 

The  male  threw  himself  into  what  may  be  described  as  a  rampant  position 


^  Idem,  page  49. 


Idem,  page  51. 


54 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


(Fig.  29),  that  is,  the  body  was  thrown  into  a  position  at  about  an  angle  of 

forty-five  degrees,  the  abdomen  almost  in  the  line  with  the  cephalothorax, 

but  a  little  bent  under  at  the  apex,  which  nearly  or 

quite  touched   the  ground.     The   two   hind   pairs   of 

legs  were  thrown  outward  from  the  body,  the  fourth 

or   hindermost  pair  being   well  curved,   the  third   or 

next  pair  somewhat  bent,  but  more  exteiid- 
The  Peck- 
,  ed.     The  second  pair  (next  to  the  foremost) 

confirmed  ^^^  quite  extended  in  a  line  without  much 

curvature,  except  towards  the  last  two  joints. 

.     The  front   legs   were    extended   in    a    line   somewhat 

Fig.  31.    Love  dance  of  Astia  j  i  n      i 

vittata.  Male  with  front  curvcd,  and  wcll  throwu  upward  above  the  head,  and 
le^^m  poise.  (Aft^r  Peck-  ^^.q  palps,  which  are  black,  were  stretched  out  in  a 
corresponding  position,  and  continually  rubbed  one 
upon  the  other  in  an  excited  manner.  In  this  attitude  the  male  moved 
backward  and  forward  with  a  lively  sal- 
tigrade  movement,  whirling  around  a  little 
as  he  leaped  upward  (Fig.  30)  and  brush- 
ing the  tips  of  his  palps  together  in  the 
meanwhile.  This  was  about  all  I  was 
permitted  to  see,  but  it  at  least  confirms 
in  part  what  the  Peckhams  have  so  care- 
fully recorded. 

The  first  male  form,  which  corresponds 
in  appearance  to  the  female,  when  he  ap- 
proaches his  mate,  raises  his  first 
ove  j^gg   g^   ^j^^|.   i]jQy  point   either  ^^ 

Astia         forward  or  upward,  keeping  his       _  " 
palps  stiffly  outstretched,  while       Js 
the  tip  of   his  abdomen    is  bent   to   the 

ground.      This  position  he  commonly  takes     Fig.  32.    Position  of  male  Astia  vittata  when 

when  three  or  four  inches  away.  While 
he  retains  this  attitude  he  keeps  curving 
and  waving  his  legs  in  a  very  curious  manner.     Frequently  he  raises  only 

one  of  the  legs  of  the  first  pair,  running  all  the 
time   from  side  to  side.     As  he   draws   nearer   to 
the  female,  he  lowers  his  body  to  the  ground  and, 
dropping    his    legs    also,   places   the   two    anterior 
pairs   so   that  the  tips  touch   in  front  (Fig.  32), 
FIG.  33.    Male  of  icius  mitratus  ^^^    proximal  joiuts   being    tumcd    almost    at    an 
dancing  before  female.    (After  angle  to  the  body.     Now  he  glides  in  a  semicir- 
^    ^  cle  before  the  female,  sometimes  advancing,  some- 

times receding,  until  at  last  she  accepts  his  addresses. 

The  Niger  form  is  much  the  more  lively  of  the  two,  and  whenever  the 


approaching  the    female. 
(After  Peckham. 


Much    enlarged. 


LOVE   DANCES   OF   SALTIGRADES.  55 

two  varieties  were  seen  to  compete  for  the  female,  the  black  male  was  suc- 
cessful. He  is  bolder  in  his  manners,  and  was  never  seen  to  assume  the 
prone  position  as  did  the  red  form  when  close  to  the  female.  He  always 
held  one  or  both  of  the  first  legs  high  in  the  air  (Fig.  31),  waving  them 
wildly  to  and  fro ;  or,  when  the  female  became  excited,  he  stood  perfectly 
motionless  before  her,  sometimes  for  a  whole  minute,  seeming  to  fascinate 
her  by  the  power  of  his  glance. 

The  male  of  Icius  mitratus  is  quite  different  from  the  female,  especially 
in  his  slender  tapering  body  and  long  first  legs.  The  female  is  remark- 
able for  her  indifference,  and  takes  less  interest  in  the  male's  display  of 
his  personal  charms  than  any  spider  observed.  In  courting  and  fighting, 
the  position  of  the  male  is  the  same ;  the  body  is  somewhat  raised ;  the 
first  legs  are  held  at  a  right  angle  to  the  cephalothorax ;  the  abdomen  is 
twisted  to  one  side,  and,  as  he  dances  before  his  lady  love,  is  changed  now 
to  the  right,  now  to  the  left.i     (Fig.  33.) 

It  is  interesting  to  find  that  these  amorous  displays  on  the  part  of 
males  have  recently  been  observed  in  other  invertebrates.  Mr.  T.  H.  Mor- 
gan thus  describes  the  performance  of  a  male  crab  (Platyonychus 
Love  ocellatus)  in  paying  his  courtship  to  the  lady  crab.     The  specimens 

,,  -,  ,  were  confined  together  in  an  aquarium.  While  sketching  some 
Crab.  hermit  crabs  which  had  previously  been  placed  in  the  same  tank, 

the  observer  was  attracted  by  the  movements  of  the  male  Platy- 
onychus. Without  apparent  cause  he  was  seen  to  rise  upon  the  third  and 
fourth  pairs  of  legs;  his  large  chelae  were  thrown  above  his  head,  with  the 
claws  open  and  their  points  touching  in  th'e  middle  line;  his  fifth  pair  of 
feet  were  held  horizontally  behind,  and  his  body  perpendicular  to  the  floor 
of  the  aquarium,  or  at  right  angles  to  the  normal  position. 

The  posture  was  ludicrous,  and  when  he  began  slowly  to  gyrate,  his 
movements  and  attitude  were  the  cause  of  much  merriment  upon  the  part 
of  the  spectators.  At  times  he  balanced  on  two  legs  of  one  side,  again  on 
two  legs  of  opposite  sides.  Now  he  advanced  slowly  and  majestically,  and 
now  he  wheeled  in  circles  in  the  sand  on  the  floor  of  the  aquarium,  and 
now  for  a  few  moments  he  stood  as  if  transfixed  in  this  unnatural  posi- 
tion. An  electric  light  hung  above  and  to  one  side  of  the  water,  which 
suggested  the  possibility  that  it  might  be  the  exciting  cause.  It  was  turned 
out,  and  still  the  dancing  went  on.  At  last,  from  sheer  exhaustion.  Mon- 
sieur Crab  sank  down  to  the  sand  in  his  usual  attitude. 

But  now  the  female,  who  had  all  this  time  remained  tucked  away  in 
the  sand,  came  forth  and  began  to  move  about  the  aquarium;  soon  she 
came  near  to  the  male  crab,  who  instantly  rose  to  his  feet  and  began  to 
dance.  Again  and  again  the  performance  was  repeated,  and  each  time  the 
approach  of  the  female  was  the  signal  for  the  male  to  rear  upon  his  hind, 
feet,  and  reel  about  the  aquarium  as  if  intoxicated. 

^  Idem,  page  50. 


56  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

At  times,  when  the  female  approached  him  as  he  danced,  he  was  seen 
to  make  attempts  to  enclose  her  in  his  great  chelate  arms,  not  with  any 
violence,  for  the  claws  never  snapped  or  closed  violently.  She  was  coy, 
however,  and  refused  to  be  won  by  his  advances ;  for  the  dance  may  have 
been  nothing  new  to  the  lady  crab,  nor  half  as  interesting  as  it  was  to  the 
two  spectators  outside  the  water.  Later  the  male  also  buried  himself  in 
the  sand,  and  the  performance  came  to  an  end.^ 

The  love  dances  of  Saltigrade  spiders  also  suggest  a  similar  habit  record- 
ed of  certain  birds.     Familiars  of  our  American  woods  and  fields  will  recall 
the  well  known  partridge  dances.     Among  the  Chatterers  the  beau- 
Love         ^j£^]^  l3JP(j  known   as  the  Cock   of  the  Rock  (Rupicola  rocia)    is 
T5-  J  famous  for  its  saltigrade  performances  at  the  mating   time.     In- 

deed, the   action    of    our  domestic  pigeons  and    barnyard   fowls, 
although  not  so  decided  as  these,  yet  suggest  a  like  tendency.  ^ 

Mr,  Wallace  has  given  an  account  of  similar  actions  by  the  beautiful 
Birds  of  Paradise  in  the  Aru  Islands.  They  moult  about  January  or  Feb- 
ruary ;  and  in  May,  when  in  full  plumage,  the  males  assemble  in  the  morn- 
ing to  exhibit  themselves  in  a  most  singular  manner.  These  are  what  are 
called  their  "  sacaleli,"  or  dancing  parties,  and  they  occur  in  certain  trees  in 
the  forest,  which  are  not  fruit  trees,  but  have  an  immense  head  of  spread- 
ing branches  and  large  but  scattered  leaves,  giving  a  clear  space  for  the 
birds  to  play  and  exhibit  their  plumes.  On  one  of  these  trees  a  dozen 
ox  twenty  full  plumaged  male  birds  assemble  together,  raise  up  their  wings, 
stretch  out  their  necks,  and  elevate  their  exquisite  plumes,  keeping  them 
in  a  continual  vibration.  Between  whiles  they  fly  across  from  branch  to 
branch  in  great  excitement,  so  that  the  whole  of  the  tree  is  filled  with 
waving  plumes  in  every  variety  of  attitude  and  motion. 

The  bird  itself  is  nearly  as  large  as  a  crow,  and  is  of  a  rich  coffee 
brown  color.  The  head  and  neck  are  a  pure  straw  yellow  above,  and  rich 
metallic  green  beneath.  The  long,  plumy  tufts  of  golden  orange 
Displays  feathers  spring  from  the  sides  beneath  each  wing,  and  when  the 
g.  ,  „  bird  is  in  repose  are  partly  concealed  by  them.  At  the  time  of 
Paradise.  ^^^  excitement,  however,  the  wings  are  raised  vertically  over  the 
back,  the  head  is  bent  down  and  stretched  out,  and  the  long  plumes 
are  raised  up  and  expanded  until  they  form  two  magnificent  golden  fans, 
striped  with  deep  red  at  the  base,  and  fading  off  into  the  pale  brown  tint 
of  the  finely  divided  and  softly  waving  points.  The  whole  bird  is  then  over- 
shadowed by  them,  the  crouching  body,  yellow  head,  and  emerald  green 
throat  forming  but  the  foundation  and  setting  to  the  golden  glory  which 
waves   above.     When    seen   in   this   attitude   the  Bird   of    Paradise   really 

^  T.  H.  Morgan,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  February,  1889,  "The  Dance  of  the  Lady  Crab." 
^  For  further  material  on  the  display  of  their  charms  by  the  males  of  birds  see  Darwin's 
Descent  of  Man,  Vol.  II.,  chap,  xiii.,  Am.  Ed. 


LOVE    DANCES   OF   SALTIGRADES.  57 

deserves  its  name,  and  must  be  ranked  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
wonderful  of  living  things.^ 

This  habit  enables  the  natives  to  obtain  specimens  with  comparative 
ease.  As  soon  as  they  find  that  the  birds  have  fixed  upon  a  tree  on  which 
to  assemble,  they  ambush  themselves  in  the  neighborhood,  A  boy  waits  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree,  and  when  the  birds  come  at  sunrise,  and  a  sufficient 
number  have  assembled  and  have  begun  to  dance,  the  hunter  shoots  the 
bird  with  a  blunt  arrow  with  sufficient  force  to  stun  it.  It  is  then  secured 
and  killed  by  the  boy  without  its  plumage  being  injured  by  a  drop  of 
blood.  The  rest  take  no  notice  of  the  loss,  but  continue  their  amatory 
dance,  and  fall  one  after  another  until  some  of  them  take  the  alarm. 

Thus  in  these  widely  separated  orders  of  animal  life  the  excitement  of 
the  mating  hour  influences  the  males  in  substantially  the  same  manner. 
That  is,  the  sexual  agitation  finds  vent  in  saltigrade  movements, 
Displays  before  and  around  the  female,  of  various  forms  and  degrees  of 
^Af^  °  f  intensity.  These  movements  appear  to  be  directed  towards  the 
Females  female  with  a  view  to  attract  her  attention,  excite  her  affection, 
and  win  her  favors.  As  far  as  I  can  judge,  there  is  no  reason 
why  this  apparent  purpose  should  not  be  regarded  as  the  real  one,  and  that 
these  devices,  common  to  spiders,  crabs,  birds,  and  doubtless  other  animals, 
are  really  prompted  by  the  wish  to  secure  marital  favors  from  the  female, 
and  that  they  do  have  a  sensible  influence  upon  her 

V. 

Another  interesting  habit  described  by  the  Peckhams  is  the  overspinning 

of  the  female  by  the  male  with  a  little  tent  or  love  bower,  within  which  the 

two   remain   together,   sometimes   for   several   days.     Three   pairs 

ove  ^£  ^j^g  Zebra  spider  (Epiblemum  scenicum)  were  placed  together 
in  a  box,  and  after  -two  hours  they-  had  all  come  to  an  agree- 
ment and  mated,  the  male  in  each  case  getting  his  partner  in  the  corner 
of  the  box  and  spinning  a  cover  over  and  around  her.  Sometimes,  while 
the  male  was  working,  the  female  would  wander  off  several  inches,  but 
when  the  bower  was  nearly  completed  he  would  seek  her  and  half  lead 
and  half  drive  her  home,  when  he  would  follow  her  into  the  nest.  Here 
the  mating  would  be  accomplished  after  some  slight  preliminaries.  The 
female  seemed  to  have  some  difficulty  in  choosing  from  among  the  males, 
but  after  a  decision  had  been  reached  and  a  mate  accepted,  there  appeared 
to  be  complete  agreement,  and  the  male   commenced   to  build  his  house. 

The  habit  of  secluding  and  protecting  the  female  has  developed  an 
even  more  striking  trait  in  at  least  one  species.  The  males  of  Philseus 
militaris  were  observed  to  select  immature  females,  overspin  them  with  a 
little   sheeted    tent,    then    spin  a   second   sheet   above   this  as  a  cover  for 

^  The  Malay  Archipelago,  by  Alfred  Russel  Wallace,  pages  466,  467. 


58  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


themselves,  and  remain  quiet  for  a  week  in  the  little  nest  thus  formed. 
During  this  time   every   spider   that  approached   was    driven   away.     The 

males  went  out  occasionally  for  food,  but  were  not  seen  to  carry 
Tending  ^^  ^^^y  f^p  their  mates.  At  the  end  of  a  week  one  of  the  males 
^        ?       was  observed  to  be  pairing  with  his  female,  which  had  moulted 

and  was  now  mature.  Successive  observations  showed  that  this 
marital  seclusion  of  young  females  was  not  an  accidental  result  of  artificial 
conditions,  but  is  a  fixed  habit  of  the  males.  It  must  be  acknowledged 
that  it  displays  a  remarkable  degree  of  foresight  and  thoughtfulness — the 
immediate  product,  no  doubt,  of  the  emotional  conditions  of   courtship. 

In   all   these   various   movements    the   position   of  the  female   of    most 
species  was  simply  one  of  watching.     She  followed  the  movements  of  her 

dancing   partner,   evidently   with   keen    interest ;    sometimes   took 

The  Pe-     herself  out  of  the  way,  but  ordinarily  was  quite  attentive  until 

T^      the  entire  reiection  of  the  suit  or  the  acceptance  of  the  suitor, 
escent.  ■        r  ,         .,  .  .  ^  •  ^ 

Iwo   species   formed   striking  exceptions   to   this   rule,  as  far  as 

the  attitude  is  concerned.  In  one,  the  female  lay  close  to  the  ground 
with  her  first  legs  directed  forward  and  upward,  while  her  second  legs 
were  held  on  the  ground  and  stretched  forward  in  front  of  her  face.  In 
another  species,  Marptusa  familiaris,  a  similar  attitude  was  assumed  by 
the  female,  who  lay  on  the  ground  with  all  the  legs  flattened  out  and 
the  palps  slightly  raised,  the  only  movement  visible  being  the  vibration 
of   the   palps.     (See  Fig.  25.) 

The  attitudes  of  the  males  were  far  more  varied.     A  reference  to  the 
details  of  the  notes  as  given  will   show  that  at   least   seven   characteristic 

attitudes  are  assumed,  namely  : — 
Sum-  First,   the   legs    of    one    side    are   bent   over,    doubled   under, 

AXi.-r'j  and  so  kept  while  the  male  engages  in  his  semicircular  dance, 
of  Males,  (^aitis  pulex.)  ^ 

Second,  the  body  is  well  elevated,  the  abdomen  lifted  verti- 
cally, all  the  legs  upraised  and  stretched  out,  and  the  entire  eight  legs 
touch  the  ground  during  the  dance.     (Synagales  picata.) 

Third,  the  male,  like  the  two  females  referred  to  above,  lies  flat  on  his 
venter,  keeping  the  tips  of  the  fore  legs  touch- 
ing (Icius)  ;  or  the  male  lies  flat,  wriggling  his 
abdomen  and  frequently  turning  from  side  to  side, 
his  legs  held  up  over  his  head,  slightly  diverging, 
and  often  twisted,  waved,  or  turned  about.  (Zygo- 
.;^^^-..^;^,^,  ballus  bettini.)  (See  Fig.  34.) 
Fig.  34.   posmoirof  male  Zygo-  Fourth,  the  two  frout  pairs  of  legs  are  stretched 

ballus  bettini  approaching  fe-    out   in    a   straight   line    from    the    cephalothorax, 

male.    (After  Peckham.)  i-ii  ••!  •       -i  ^  i 

while  the  remaining  legs  are  raised  and  curved 
and  used  for  moving  the  body  forward  in  its  whirling  dance.  (Marptusa 
familiaris.) 


LOVE   DANCES  OP   SALTIGRADES.  59 

Fifth,  the  first  legs  are  extended  directly  forward,  close  to  the  ground, 
the  legs  being  slightly  curved,  with  the  tips  turned  up  (Dendryphantes 
capitans),  or  again  he  lies  down  on  one  side  with  the  legs  well  extended. 
Sixth,  the  fore  legs  are  elevated  high  above  the  head  and  curved  towards 
each  other,  while  the  body  is  sustained  upon  the  remaining  feet  during 
the  saltigrade  movement  (Philaeus  militaris),  or  again  the  fore  legs  are 
extended  and  the  abdomen  turned  up.     (Habrocestum  splendens.) 

Seventh,  the  spider  maintains  a  rampant  attitude,  something  like  the 
position  last  mentioned,  with  the  fore  feet  raised  high  and  curved  forward, 
instead  of  toward  each  other.     (Astia  vittata.) 

These  are  the  most  characteristic  positions,  and  they  are  maintained 
during  the  courtship  dance  with  more  or  less  persistence,  according  to  the 
various  species.  The  position  after  the  consummation  of  the 
Position  wooing  is  much  the  same  in  all  species.  In  mating,  the  male 
°  ,  *  ®  usuallv  crawls  over  the  female,  or  the  female  crawls  under  the 
Mating-  male,  and  the  palps  are  applied  to  the  vulva  while  in  this  atti- 
tude. An  exception  was  observed  in  two  species,  where  the  male 
jumped  upon  his  partner  from  a  distance  of  one  or  two  inches,  the  ap- 
proach being  per  saltem,  instead  of  by  the  gradual  crawling  movement 
above  indicated. 

For  the  most  part  the  female  appeared  to  be  complaisant  or,   at  the 

furthest,   indifferent.      She    maintained   herself    in   a  position   to 

ema  e      -y^r^^^^jj   ^j^g   antics    of    her  lover  and  to   be   influenced   by  them. 

Sometimes  she  ran  away  and  avoided  the  advances  of  her  suitor, 

but  showed  no  disposition  to  attack  or  annoy  him. 

At  least  one  exception,  however,  to  this  general   complaisance  was  ob- 
served in  the  case  of  Phidippus  rufus,  w^ho  is  a  ferocious  creature,  having 
a  great  advantage  in  size  over  her  partner.     It  happened  to  one 
A  Fero-     assiduous   male  that  in  an  unguarded   moment  he  was   pounced 
cious  upon  and  eaten  up  by  the  lady  whom  he  was  wooing.     Another 

species  of  Phidippus  showed  the  same  ferocity.  This  is  our 
large  black  Phidippus  morsitans,  a  creature  not  in  good  repute  in  certain 
parts  of  the  country,  it  being  regarded  as  one  of  our  poisonous  species.^ 
The  single  female  which  the  Peckhams  caught  during  the  summer  was  a 
savage  monster.  The  two  males  provided  for  her  had  offered  her  only  the 
merest  civilities  when  she  leaped  upon  them  and  killed  them. 

The  male  of  this  species  has  the  first  pair  of  legs  much  longer  than  the 

corresponding  legs  of  the  female,  and  also  it  is  thickly  adorned 

Vain  ^^,j^|^  white  hairs,  some  of  which  are  long  and  others  short  and 

g.       ,        scale    like.      It   was   while   one   of   the   males   was   waving   these 

handsome  legs  over  his  head  that  he  was  seized  by  his  mate  and 

devoured.     This  love  signal  was  evidently  not  sufficiently  attractive  to  win 


^  Vol.  I.,  page  276.    A  letter  just  received  fix)ni  Prof.  Peckham  denies  this  accusation. 


60  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

the  consent  of  his  unsesthetic  partner,  and,  no  doubt,  had  he  been  less 
concerned  to  produce  a  fine  effect  upon  his  lady  love,  he  could  have  used  his 
legs  to  better  purpose  in  running  away.  Nevertheless,  the  manner  in  which 
the  snowy  legs,  as  well  as  the  white  hairs  upon  the  palps,  were  displayed 
before  the  female's  eyes,  indicated  that  he  had  natural  confidence  that  the 
lady  was  to  be  won  in  this  way,  if  won  at  all. 

The  Peckhams  appear  to  have  no  doubt  that  the  purpose  of  this  re- 
markable display  on  the  part  of  the  dancing  males  is  to  win  the  favor  of 
their  chosen  partners.  It  seems  to  them  beyond  question  that,  during  all 
these  complicated  movements,  the  portions  of  the  body  which  are  most 
highly  decorated  are  exhibited  to  the  watching  female,  and  are  displayed 
in  such  wise  as  to  give  the  most  heightened  effect  to  the  coloring.  It  is 
noted  that  the  portions  of  the  body  among  Saltigrade  spiders  which  are 
commonly  most  highly  ornate,  are  those  which  are  placed  at  the  front  of 
the  body,  as,  for  example,  the  mandibles,  which  are  often  of  bright  metallic 
colors,  green  or  blue.  The  arrangement  of  the  hairs  upon  the  face,  and 
also  the  coloring  of  the  fore  legs,  appear  very  commonly  to  be  more  attract- 
ive than  in  any  other  portions  of  the  body. 

Indeed,  the  Peckhams  associate  the  development  of  this  coloring  upon 
the  fore  parts  of  the  body  with  the  dancing  habits  which  they  so  attract- 
ively   describe.     They    believe    it    to    be    the    result    of    sexual 
Color         selection.     In   other  words,  the  males  which   have  the   brightest 
ment  colors   upon  the  fore   parts   of   the   body  are   precisely  the   ones 

which  have  survived ;  since,  being  more  pleasing  to  the  females, 
they  were  the  partners  most  frequently  chosen,  and  thus  the  individuals 
so  marked  more  frequently  transmitted  their  peculiarities  to  the  offspring. 
The  males  will  pair  as  soon  as  they  have  the  opportunity,  and,  as  the 
mating  season  lasts  for  two  or  three  weeks,  the  most  brilliant  males  may 
easily  be  selected  again  and  again. 


CHAPTER    III. 

COMPARATIVE  VIEWS   OF  VARIOUS  MATING  HABITS. 

From  the  mating  habits  of  the  various  tribes  of  spiders,  as  described  in 
the  preceding  chapters,  a  number  of  generalizations  may  be  drawn  with 
more  or  less  confidence.  These  I  have  thought  well  to  place  in  a  separate 
chapter,  together  with  several  facts  connected  with  reproduction,  but  not 
heretofore  alluded  to. 

I. 

We  may  begin  by  noting  the  influence  of  the  general  habits  and  char- 
acteristics of  the  various  species  upon  the  manner  and  conditions  of  mat- 
ing.    Several  conclusions  and  inferences  appear. 

enera  i-         First,  a  marked  difference   is    observed   between  the   methods 
zations. 

of  the  Sedentary  and  the  Wandering  groups;   and  this  difference 

is  characterized  by  the  radical  difference  in  their  manner  of  living  and 
capturing  prey.  The  Sedentary  spiders  carry  their  persistent  habit  of 
dwelling  upon  the  snare  into  the  act  of  -pairing,  and  the  snare  is  with 
them  constantly  the  scene  of  lovemaking.  Their  courtship  and  mating 
proceed  while  they  are  hanging  to  the  lines  of  their  snares  in  the  natural 
attitudes  of  ordinary  life. 

On  the  other  hand,  with  the  Wanderers  the  courtship  is  in  the  open, 
and  the  male  directly  places  himself  upon  the  body  of  the  female.  In 
this  group,  also,  the  power  of  ordinary  habit  is  seen  directing  the  act  of 
mating,  although,  of  course,  in  an  exactly  opposite  mode.  In  other  words, 
species  that  do  not  live  by  webs  dispense  with  webs  in  mating. 

With   the   Tubeweavers,   again,  we   see  the   same   influence   of   general 
habit.     This  tribe  is  properly  classed  with  the  Sedentary  spiders,  for  they 
dwell  persistently  within  their  webs,  by  which  they  capture  their 
a  ue  o     p^^y   ^^  large   measure.     Yet  they  do   not   maintain   upon   their 
Habits       webs,  for  purposes  of  feeding,  the  inverted  position  that  charac- 
terizes Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers.     In  other  words,  instead  of 
hanging  to  their  snares  head  downward,  they  rest  upon  their  snares  in  a 
position  entirely  similar  to  that  of  the  ordinary  attitude  of  individuals  of 
the  Wandering  group,  and    rush  out  upon   the   prey  entangled  within  or 
near  their  webs,  which  they  seize  and  devour,  generally  without  swathing 
them,  as  also  do  the  Wanderers.     We  might,  therefore,  reasoning  from  the 

(61) 


62  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 

influence  of  general  habit,  naturally  suppose  that  the  method  of  union 
would  be  a  compromise  between  the  two  already  described.  So  we  find  it. 
Among  the  Tubeweavers  the  mating  occurs  within  the  tube,  into  which 
the  male  penetrates.  The  bodies  come  into  close  contact,  and  the  female 
remains  in  a  state  of  absolute  quietude. 

Second,  the  differences  in  mating  habit  among  Sedentary  spiders  are 
characterized  and  evidently  modified  by  the  characteristic  differences  in 
their  snares. 

1.  With  Orbweavers  making  a  vertical  web  the  male  approaches  from 
the  under  side  of  the  female's  body,  applying  the  palps  in  that  position, 

clinging  meantime  to  the  female.      Sometimes,  though  probably 

a  ue  o     purely,  the  male  hangs  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  round  snare. 

Habit.        ^^^   from    this    position    applies    the    palps    through    the    open 

meshes,  or  through  the  free  zone,  clinging  the  meantime  to  the 
web,  as  in  the  case  of  Epeira  sclopetaria. 

2.  Orbweavers  making  a  horizontal  snare,  and  probably  all  making 
composite  snares,  as  Epeira  labyrinth ea,  etc.,  mate  upon  the  snare,  hang- 
ing to  the  crossed  lines,  back  downward ;  the  male  above,  and  face  up- 
ward ;  the  female  beneath,  with  face  upward.  In  other  words,  in  the  case 
of  both  these  groups  of  the  one  tribe  the  mating  occurs  while  the  spiders 
are  in  the  positions  most  natural  to  them  during  their  hours  of  capturing 
prey — the  one  maintaining  the  vertical  position,  and  the  other  the  hori- 
zontal. 

Third,  the  Lineweavers  assume  precisely  the  same  attitude  during  court- 
ship that  is  observed  by  Orbweavers  which  make  horizontal  orbs,  and, 
probably,  by  those  which  have  a  retitelarian  annex,  like  the  Labyrinth 
spider.  Here  the  common  habit  in  the  two  separated  groups  has  operated 
to  produce  a  common  habit  in  the  act  of  mating,  for  the  Orbweavers  with 
horizontal  snares  habitually  hang  back  downward  upon  their  webs,  just  as 
do  the  Lineweavers. 

Fourth,  in  the  proportion  that  spiders  come  directly  in  contact  with 
each  other  during  mating  without  the  aid  of  a  snare,  does  the"  disparity 
in  size  between  the  two  sexes  seem  to  disappear.  Among  Tubeweavers  the 
male  is  generally  equal,  and  sometimes  superior,  in  size  to  the  female. 
The  same  rule  applies  to  the  various  genera  of  the  Wandering  tribes.  The 
fact  of  direct  contact  would  seem  at  once  to  suggest  the  necessity  of  equal- 
ity in  size  between  the  sexes,  or  a  greater  degree  of  complacency  on  the 
part  of  the  female.  One  is  not  abler  to  speak  concerning  the  latter  factor, 
but  certainly  the  former  seems  to  be  reasonably  well  established. 

It  is  perhaps  worth  noticing  that  the  greatest  disparity  in  size  between 
the  sexes  is  seen  among  Orbweavers,  and  the  larger  the  species,  as  repre- 
sented by  the  female,  the  smaller  does-  the  male  become.  In  the  smaller 
species  of  Orbweavers  the  difference  between  the  sexes  is  not  so  great,  and, 
indeed,  is  often  scarcely,  noticeable. 


COMPARATIVE   VIEWS   OP   VARIOUS   MATING   HABITS.  63 

Fifth,  amorous  solicitations  proceed  from  the  male,  and  as  a  rule  the 
female  is  apparently  indifferent  to,  or  a  passive  recipient  of,  his  advances. 
There  are,  however,  in  this  respect,  differences  among  the  various  species, 
some  females  being  more  complaisant  than  others. 

Sixth,  the  male  is  frequently  less  vigorous  in  physical  organization  than 
the  female,  is  generally  shorter  lived,  and  is  provided,  in  a  less  degree, 
with  those  habits  which  secure  prolonged  activity  and  greater  security.  In 
the  matter  of  spinningwork  his  acquirements  are  incomplete  or  rudimentary 
with  many  species ;  with  some,  however,  this  exception  does  not  exist,  and 
the  webs  spun  are  as  perfect  as  those  of  the  female.  Generally  speaking, 
there  is  a  tendency  among  males  of  the  Sedentary  tribes  to  defective  spin- 
ning industry,  while  among  females  the  habit  is  invariably  complete  after 
their  kind.  Among  the  Wanderers,  of  course,  the  chief  spinning  industry 
is  cocoon  making  and  is  thus  confined  to  the  female. 

Seventh,  in  the  case  of  some  species,  particularly  among  the  Saltigrades, 
male  spiders  have  the  habit  of  attracting  the  notice  of  the  females  by 
certain  saltigrade  or  dancing  movements,  which  appear  to  be  conducted 
with  a  view  of  displaying  to  better  advantage  certain  attractive  colors  or 
markings.  This  habit  is  noticeably  limited  to  spiders  belonging  to  the 
group  of  Wanderers.  In  the  nature  of  things  it  could  scarcely  exist  in 
the  case  of  Sedentary  tribes,  since  the  opportunity  to  display  the  person  is 
excluded  by  reason  of  the  habit  which  limits  their  life  to  snare  and  nest. 

Eighth,  in  the  period  of  courtship  it  frequently  occurs  that  several 
males  attend  upon  one  female  at  the  same  time.  This  rivalry  is  often 
without  any  special  demonstration  of  hostility  between  the  attending  gal- 
lants, but  sometimes  results  in  quarrels  which,  for  the  most  part,  appear 
to  be  without  serious  harm  to  either  combatant.  The  quarrelsomeness  of 
rival  males  seems  to  be  limited  to  or  greatest  in  the  Wandering  tribes,  a 
fact  which  again  probably  depends  on  characteristic  habits.  Such  con- 
flicts are  possible  with  Wanderers,  as  rival  males  must  come  in  contact  with 
each  other  upon  the  open  field  in  which  their  loves  are  prosecuted.  But 
as  the  amorous  movements  of  Sedentary  species  must  be  limited  to  the 
snare  or  nest  of  the  female,  opportunities  for  personal  contact  are  much 
more  circumscribed. 

Ninth,  as  a  rule,  the  general  solitary  habit  of  spiders  is  manifest  also 
in  mating  habits.  With  most  species  there  is  no  such  permanent  relation 
of  mates  as  that  which  one  often  sees  in  vertebrate  animals.  But  to  this 
there  are  some  striking  exceptions.  Certain  species  seem  to  have  acquired 
a  degree  of  domesticity,  so  that  the  two  sexes  are  quite  invariably  found 
together  at  all  seasons  after  maturity.  In  a  few  cases,  it  has  been  asserted 
that  the  male  possesses  so  strong  a  domestic  character  that  he  will  share 
with  the  female  the  care  of  the  egg  cocoons,  thus  approaching  the  habit 
of  certain  birds,  fishes,  etc.,  who  unite  with  their  partners  in  providing  for 
and  protecting  the  offspring. 


64  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


II. 

The  maternal  and  sexual  instincts  exercise  a  decided  influence  upon 
the  industrial  activity  and  art  of  spiders. 

The  influence  of  the  maternal  feeling  is  decidedly  manifest  in  the  spin- 
ningwork  of  the  female  spider.     I  have  often  observed  that  with  insects, 
as  ants,  wasps,   and  bees,  the  habits  by  which   their  wonderful 
Maternity  architecture  is   created   are   prompted   by  and  revolve  about  the 
Inspires     ^g^^^  q£  ^Yiq  young.     It  is  most  manifestly  so  with  solitary  insects 
Archi-        ^^^^  ^^  *^^^  Carpenter  bee  and  the  Mud-dauber  wasp,  but  it  is 
tecture.      none  the  less  true  with  such  social  insects  as  ants,  social  wasps, 
etc.     Among  these  creatures  the  workers  or  neuters,  as  they  are 
popularly  called,  are  undeveloped  females,  and  possess  all  the  instincts  of  the 
female  of  their  species.     Upon  them  devolves  the  work  of  the  colony.     They 
are  the  nurses  of  the  formicary,  as  well  as  its  architects,  scavengers,  soldiers, 
and  purveyors.    The  whole  care  of  the  eggs,  larvae,  and  pupse  rests  with  them, 
and  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  and  self  devotion  they  exercise  that  care, 
venturing  their  lives  freely  on  all  occasions  for  the  welfare  of  their  wards. 
With  female  spiders  a  like  maternal  devotion  exists.     Their  cocooning 
industry  is  the  most   intricate   and  ingenious   of  their  spinningwork,  and 
this  is  directly  the  product  of  the  maternal  instinct.     How  varied. 
Industry   complicated,  and   ingenious  this   spinningwork   is  will  be   shown 
",,       in  the    series   of    illustrations    given   in   the  following    chapters. 
Maternity -^^^^^^^^  as  they  are,  they  but  imperfectly  represent  the  indus- 
try of  the  aranead  mother ;   and  I  am   confident  that,  when  this 
field  shall  have  been  fully  explored,  my  studies  will  be  found  to  reflect  but 
imperfectly  the  actual  facts  as  they  exist  in  the  aranead  world. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  not  only  the  cocooning,  but  also  the  nesting, 
industry  is  under  the  influence  of  the  same  maternal  sentiment.  Certainly 
many  of  the  admirably  constructed  nests  described  and  figured  in  Volumje  I., 
Chapters  XVII.  and  XVIII.,  are  used  as  home  shelters  for  the  cocoon  and  the 
young;  as,  for  example,  the  nest  of  our  Theridium  zelotypum,  the  won- 
derful domicile  of  the  English  Theridium  riparium,  and  the  various  sub- 
terranean nests  of  the  Lycosids.  This  would  seem  to  be  true  also  of  the 
remarkable  nesting  industry  of  the  Tunnelweavers. 

Abbe  Sauvages  expresses  the  belief  that  the  Trapdoor  spider's  nest  is 
primarily  designed  for  the  preservation  of  the  young,  rather  than  for  the 
preservation  of  the  individuals  themselves.  Certainly  these  ingenious  struct- 
ures do  serve  as  a  nursery  for  the  spiderlings,  as  will  be  shown  in  Chapter  V. 
The  cocoons  are  suspended  within  them  under  the  vigilant  watch  care  of 
the  mother,  and  therein  the  younglings  are  hatched  and  dwell  for  a  con- 
siderable period  of  time.  Their  habit  appears  to  be  to  leave  the  maternal 
nest  only  when  they  are  abundantly  furnished  with  strength  to  enter  upon 
housekeeping  for  themselves.     Then  they  migrate,  and,  establishing  them- 


COMPARATIVE   VIEWS   OP   VARIOUS   MATING   HABITS.  65 

selves  in  the  neighborhood,  pierce  the  earth  with  tiny  tubes,  which  in  their 
silk  lining  and  hinged  trapdoor  are  tiny  miniatures  of  the  maternal  dom- 
icile. It  certainly  is  in  the  line  of  that  influence  upon  architecture  and 
spinningwork  generally,  which  is  associated  with,  and  probably  incitive  of, 
the  maternal  industry,  that  this  remarkable  talent  for  house  building  should 
have  been  developed  by  the  Trapdoor  spider.  But  I  am  disposed  to  think 
that  the  protection  of  the  spider  itself,  from  certain  enemies  which  are 
not  as  yet  well  known,  has  much  to  do  with  the  structure. 

Coming  now  to  the  male  spider,  it  may  be  observed,  in  certain  species 
at  least,  that  the  sexual  feeling  serves,  to  some  extent,  a  like  purpose 
with  the  maternal  instinct  in  exciting  the  animal  to  a  higher 
Sexual  order  of  industrial  art.  As  a  rule,  the  spinning  abilities  of  male 
■^  ,  spiders,  as  far  as  they  relate  to   the  capture  of   prey,  have  been 

shown  in  Volume  I.  to  be  less  decided  than  with  females.  The 
rule  is  not  absolute  for  all  species,  as  in  some  cases  the  snare  spun  by  the 
male  is  precisely  like  that  woven  by  the  female.  But  in  certain  other 
genera,  as,  for  example,  Argiope  and  probably  Nephila,  the  snares  of  the 
male  are  rudimentary,  and  do  not  compare  in  perfection  with  those  of 
the  female. 

Yet,  in  the  hour  of  courtship,  and  under  the  influence  of  amatory  ex- 
citement, the  male  of  the  Water  spider,  Argyroneta  aquatica,  will  be  in- 
cited to  weave  a  silken  cell  close  by  that  of  his  lady  love,  and  resort  to 
the  unusual  device  of  uniting  this  with  the  domicile  of  his  spouse  by  a 
silken  vault,  which  is  so  admirably  arranged  as  to  permit  communication 
without  inviting  destruction  in  the  midst  of  an  element  ill  calculated  to 
preserve  intact  a  flimsy  material  like  spider's  silk. 

So,  again,  it  will  be  found  that  among  the  Saltigrades  the  male  of  Phi- 
Iseus  militaris  is  prompted  by  sexual  excitement  to  the  remarkable  habit  of 
preparing  a  special  silken  bower  for  his  chosen  mate,  to  which  he 
Innuenc-  j^^^ds  her,  and  in  which  he  confines  her  until  the  nuptial  hour. 
,     ,  What  is  yet  more  remarkable,  the  males  of  this  species  have  ac- 

quired the  habit  of  selecting  immature  females,  and  secluding 
them  under  a   silken  tent   until  maturity  prepares  them  for   nuptial  rites. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  under  the  powerful  influence  of  sexual  feeling, 
the  male  responds  to  a  higher  type  of  industrial  art,  and  that  to  some 
extent  this  feeling  operates  upon  his  organization  in  the  same  manner 
that  the  maternal  instinct  influences  the  habit  of  the  female. 


III. 

It  has  been  shown  that  in  some  species  of  Orbweavers  the  females  will 
seize  and  devour  the  male  even  immediately  after  the  exercise  of  his  natural 
office,  which  indeed  he  has  to  undertake  with  great  self  control  and  care 
to  be  able  to  accomplish  it  at  all.     From  this  propensity  of  the  female, 


66  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Rev.  O.  P.  Cambridge^  accounts  for  the  great  lessening  in  size  of  some 

male  spiders,  as  Nephila,  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  female, 

Dispro-      i^y  g^   kind   of   sexual   selection.     It  is  obvious,  he   reasons,  that 

^°  „.    '     the  smaller  the  male   the  better  his  chance  of  escape,  and  thus 

in  Sexes,   selection  would  operate  until  males  became  so  small  as  only  just 

to  be  able  to  fulfill  the  office  of  impregnating  the  female. 

It  is  perhaps  difficult  to  reason  upon  this  subject  without  a  much  larger 

array  of  facts  than  we  at  present  possess,  but  there  are  some  points  which 

may  be  remarked  upon  with  advantage.     And  it  is  to  be  noted  that,  in  the 

case  of  Orbweavers,  the  extremely  diminutive  size  of  the  male  obtains  in 

those  species  whose  females  have  acquired  the  largest  development.     For 

example,  our  indigenous  Argiopes  are  among   the  largest  of  the  tribe,  and 

their  partners  are  very  small,  not   exceeding   one-fourth   the  female's   size. 

The  same  is  true  of  Nephila  wilder!  of  our  Southern  seaboard,  and  in  the 

case  of  the  large  Nephilas  of  tropical  countries,  as,  for  example, 

Disad-       ^jjg  Nephila  nigra  of  Vinson  (see  Fig.   6,  page   27),    the   differ- 

^f'x  ence  is   even   more   remarkable.     Now,  it   is  certainly  true   that, 

of  Large  .  .  .  '' 

Size  were  the  male  of  a  size  corresponding  with  the  female,  his  weight 

upon  the  orbicular  snare  of  the  genus  would  appear  at  first  sight 
to  be  a  disadvantage  in  several  respects.  First,  it  might  break  down  and 
injure  the  snare,  and  thus  place  a  serious  obstruction  in  the  way  of  nat- 
ural union. 

Again,  the  advent  of  such  a  bulky  creature  upon  the  snare  would  at 
once  advise  the  female  of  invasion  by  a  most  formidable  stranger,  and 
the  natural  instincts  of  the  occupant  of  the  web  would  be  to  regard  that 
stranger  as  hostile,  so  that  her  natural  ferocity  would  be  awakened,  and 
the  chances  for  combat  and  loss  of  life,  or  the  prevention  of  sexual  union, 
would  be  a  pretty  certain  result.  From  this  view  of  the  subject,  Mr.  Cam- 
bridge's suggestion,  that  the  diminution  of  size  would  be  a  great  advantage 
to  the  male  of  these  large  species  in  accomplishing  his  amatory  purpose 
and  protecting  his  life,  has  somewhat  to  support  it. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  be  said  that  the  immense"  snares  of 
Nephila  and  Argiope  are  no  more  fragile  in  proportion  than  those  of 
smaller  sized  Orbweavers,  in  whose  case  the  sexual  disparity  does 
p®^  ,  not  exist.     Again,  it  might  well  be  reasoned  that  natural  selection 

might  have  operated  quite  as  favorably  by  maintaining  the  pro- 
portionate size  of  the  male  or  even  preserving  the  largest  examples  of  that 
sex,  inasmuch  as  increased  strength  would  make  him  more  formidable  and 
thus  better  fitted  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  In  other  words,  there  is  no 
reason  why  Nature  should  not  have  preserved  or  _  bestowed  the  advantage 
of  superior  strength,  as  well  as  the  advantage  of  insignificance  in  size  and 
therewith,  perhaps,  corresponding  caution  and  ingenuity  in  approach.     As 

^  Zoologist,  1868,  page  216,  and  Proceedings  Zool.  Soc.  Lond.,  1871,  page  621. 


COMPARATIVE  VIEWS  OF  VARIOUS  MATING  HABITS.  67 


to  the  latter  point,  however,  I  must  say,  as  a  result  of  many  observations, 
that  I  have  not  been  at  all  impressed  with  the  ingenuity  of  the  male  sex  of 
Argiope  in  approaching  his  lady's  premises.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have 
rather  acquired  the  impression  that  he  shows  a  remarkable  degree  of  stu- 
pidity or,  at  least,  stolidity. 

Moreover,  Mr.  Cambridge's  argument  implies  the  fact  that  at  one  time 
the  sexes  were  of  equal  size,  and  that  natural  selection  operated  in  the  way 

of  producing  a  diminution  of  size  in  the  male,  to  his  advantage. 
„  ^1  ^^  But  this  hypothesis,  in  its  first  particular,  is  not  admissible,  by 
"the  very  nature  of  the  reasoning,  which  implies  the  necessity  for 
a  reduction  in  size  in  order  to  preserve  the  male,  and  thus  facilitate  the 
preservation  of  the  species.  It  seems  difficult  to  convince  one  that  Nature, 
having  at  the  outset  provided  a  comparative  equality  between  the  species, 
or  wrought  the  sexes  up  to  such  an  equality,  should  have  felt  compelled 
to  reverse  her  decision  and  her  processes,  and  reduce  the  size  of  one  of  the 
sexes  to  such  ridiculously  small  proportions.  In  other  words,  if  Mr.  Cam- 
bridge's theory  starts  out,  as  it  seems  to  do,  with  a  comparative  equality  of 
the  sexes,  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  that  equality,  having  once 
obtained,  should  not  have  continued ;  for  the  fact  that  it  had  once  ob- 
tained forbids  the  hypothesis  that  any  necessity  existed,  or  would  be  likely 
to  arise,  for  reducing  the  original  equality  of  size. 

Still  further,   it  is  a  very  common  thing  to  find  Orbweaving   species 
whose  sexes  are  of   nearly  equal  size  and  vigor.     Such,  for  example,  are 

Epeira   strix,  Epeira   sclopetaria,  and  Epeira  labyrinthea,  which 

exes  o     ^^^  among  our  most  common  indigenous  species.     The   same  is 

Size  ^^^^  ^^  many  Lineweavers,  as,  for  example,  Theridium  tepidari- 

orum,  Steatoda  borealis,  Linyphia  marginata,  and  Linyphia  com- 
munis. The  reasons  for  difference  in  size  between  the  two  sexes  would 
seem  to  be  equally  potent  in  the  case  of  the  above  species,  and  all  others 
of  like  habit.  Yet  we  see  that  natural  selection  has  not  operated  along 
the  line  of  action  supposed  in  the  case  of  Nephila  and  Argiope.  Cer- 
tainly these  exceptions  are  too  numerous  not  to  be  regarded  as  throwing 
much  discredit  upon  the  theory  or,  at  least,  laying  upon  its  supporters  the 
burden  of  further  proof. 

It  is  pertinent  to  ask,  do  those  Orbweaving  species  which  habitually  oc- 
cupy nests  or  tents,  in  which  the  pairing  occurs,  at  least  occasionally,  show 

a  disproportion   of   size   on  the   part  of   the  sexes?     One  would 
as  ing     reason  that  in  such  cases  a  substantial  equality  of  size,  or  even 

the  superior  strength  of  the  male,  would  work  to  his  advantage, 
and  so  to  the  propagation  of  the  species.  That  is  to  say,  it  has  been 
found  that  among  the  Tubeweavers  and  Wanderers,  and  all  other  species 
where  courtship  and  mating  are  conducted  by  direct  contact,  and  not  by 
the  act  of  suspension  within  the  snare,  as  is  habitual  with  Lineweavers 
and  Orbweavers,  the  male  is  of  equal,  or  even  superior,  size.     In  the  case 


68  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  the  nesting  species  of  Orbweavers  does  the  same  rule  obtain,  thus  fol- 
lowing the  line  of  similar  mating  habit? 

With  Epeira  trifolium  the  males  observed  by  me  are  very  much  smaller 
than  the  females.  The  disproportion  is  nearly  as  great  as  between  the 
male  and  female  of  Argiope.  In  the  case  of  Epeira  insularis  the  male  is 
smaller  than  the  female,  but  the  disproportion  is  not  great.  The  male  of 
Epeira  domiciliorum  is  not  greatly  inferior  to  the  female.  The  male  of 
Epeira  cinerea  is  smaller  in  abdomen,  but  in  the  size  of  the  cephalothorax 
and  mouth  parts  is  about  equal,  and  the  legs,  if  anything,  are 
^  ,  ,  more  powerful.  So  far  as  our  American  species  throw  light 
Disparity  ^po^  the  question,  it  would  seem  that  the  Orbweavers  who  per- 
sistently dwell  within  tents,  show  no  very  marked  disparity  of 
size  between  the  sexes.  This  is  the  rule,  wdth  occasional  exceptions.  Among 
British  spiders,  as  described  by  Blackwall,  the  case  is  as  follows :  In  Epeira 
quadrata  the  male  is  about  one-half  the  size  of  the  female ;  the  female  of 
Epeira  apoclisa  is  about  one-third  longer  than  the  male.^  The  proportions 
are  nearly  the  same  as  those  prevailing  betw^een  the  sexes  of  American 
nesting  species;  but  there  is  apparently  a  greater  tendency  in  the  former 
than  the  latter  toward  diminished  size  of  the  males.  On  the  whole,  it  can 
hardly  be  inferred  that  the  facts  among  Orbweavers  indicate  that  equality 
of  size  results  from  contact  of  male  with  female  without  the  mediation  of 
a  snare. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that,  ordinarily,  where  the  sexes  habitu- 
ally come  into  direct  contact,  by  reason  of  their  natural  habit,  the  dispar- 
ity in  size  between  them  is  less  noticeable.     Even  among  species 
Sexual       q£  ^Y\g  Sedentary  tribes,   such  as   the  Tubeweavers,  where  union 
ize  m       ^^^g   ^^^  occur   during   suspension   upon  the  w^eb,  this   rule  ob- 
■weavers.   tains.      For    example,   the    male   of    Agalena    nsevia    is    quite  as 
large  and  powerful  as  the  female.      In  the  case  of  the  remark- 
able Water  spider  of  Europe,  Argyroneta  aquatica,  the  male  is  even  larger 
than  the  female.     There  is,  perhaps,  some  relation  betw^een  this  fact  and 
the  necessity  which   seems  to  be  compelled   by  the  element  in  "which  the 
life  of  the  species  is  spent,  and  which  appears  to  preclude  anything  like 
cautious  approach.      The  male  Argyroneta  must  necessarily  adopt  for  his 
motto  the  Virgilian  sentiment  "  Fit  via  vi "  in  his  approach  to  his  lady's 
domicile.     It  thus  falls  out  that  the  superiority  of  size  proves  to  be  a  con- 
siderable advantage  to  him. 

Among  Tubeweavers,  generally,  there  exists  no  very  marked  disparity 
of  size.  With  the  immense  creatures  popularly  known  as  Tarantula,  the 
Mygalidse,  the  male  is  certainly  somewhat  smaller  than  the  female,  but  the 
difference  is  not  sufficient,  as  far  as  my  observation  extends,  to  make  any 
great  disproportion   in  vigor.      In  fact,  in   this   and   in   all  other   cases,  it 

1  Spi.  Gt.  Brit,  and  Ir,,  plate  xxii.,  Figs.  236,  237. 


COMPARATIVE   VIEWS   OF   VARIOUS   MATING   HABITS.  69 


must  be  remembered  that  the  abdomen  of  the  male  is  always,  and  neces- 
sarily, by  reason  of  difference  in  organization,  much  smaller  than  that  of  the 

female,  which  gives  him,  to  the  current  observer,  the  appearance 
.  ^  ®  of   being   less   in   general   size.      But  the  organs   of   offense   and 

defense  are  not  situated  in  the  abdomen.  The  legs  and  mouth 
parts  of  the  male,  including  the  cephalothorax,  are  often  equal  or  superior 
in  size  to  those  of  the  female,  even  when  he  seems  at  a  casual  glance  to 
be  much  smaller  by  reason  of  difference  in  size  of  the  abdomen. 

Among  the  Wandering  tribes  the  same  rule  holds  good.  The  Atto'ids 
show  a  substantial  equality  in  size  between  the  two  sexes,  there  being  an 

average  difference   of   about   one-sixth   in  favor   of   the  female. 

wan-         -g^^  ^j^ig  difference  in  size  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  difference 
cl©T*©rs  '  */         J.  •/ 

in  physical  vigor.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  at  the  mat- 
ing period  the  sexual  excitement  of  the  male  imparts  an  abnormal  degree 
of  strength,  which  helps  greatly  to  overcome  any  disparity  in  pliysical  or- 
ganism which  may  exist.  The  Lycosids  follow  the  same  rule  of  substan- 
tial equality  in  size,  with  a  slight  difference  in  favor  of  the  female. 

In  the  case  of  the  Laterigrades  the  rule  holds  good,  as  an  examination 
of  the  superb  plates  of  Blackwall's  "British  Spiders"  (Plates  IV  and  V), 
will  show.  There  are  some  remarkable  exceptions,  for  which  I  am  not 
able  to  account.  With  a  few  Thomisoi'ds  there  is  said  to  exist  the  same 
immense  disparity  in  size  that  has  already  been  noted  between  the  sexes 
of  the  Orbweaving  Nephila  and  Argiope.^ 

IV.         - 

The  numerical  proportion  of  the  two  sexes  is  a  matter  of  great  interest, 
not  only  in  itseK,  but  in  its  bearing  upon  certain  theories,  especially  relat- 
ing to  development.     The  facts  are  so  insufficient,  and  at  many 
Numeri-    points  so  conflicting,  that  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  arrive  at  any- 

^*  , .     "     thing  like  a  settled  conclusion. 
portion  ° 

of  Sexes  ■^-  Eugene  Simon  remarks  that  in  the  genera  where  the  in- 

equality between  the  sexes  is  slightest  the  number  of  males  ap- 
pears to  be  equal  to  that  of  the  females,  since  at  the  period  of  amour  Orb- 
weavers  having  this  characteristic  regularly  come  together  in  pairs.  But 
in  the  genera  where  there  is  a  great  disproportion  of  size  the  number  of 
males  is  much  more  considerable,  since  it  is  not  unusual  to  see  four  or  five 
individuals  of  the  sex  courting  one  female.  These  little  males  mature  first, 
but  the  duration  of  their  life  appears  very  short,  for  after  the  period  of  re- 
production they  completely  disappear.  They  do  not  construct  a  proper 
web,  but  keep  in  the  neighborhood  of  those  woven  by  the  female,  watching 
for  the  propitious  moment  for  union.  ^ 

^  Cambridge,  Art.  Arachnida,  Brit.  Eneyc. 
^  Les  Arachnides  de  France,  I.,  page  20. 


70  AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


Blackwall  and   Mr,  C.  Spense  Bate  reported  to  Darwin  that  the  males 
of  spiders  are  very  active  and  more  erratic  in  their  habits  than  those  of 
females.^     This  appears  to  be  a  general  opinion  among  araneolo- 
Are  Males  gjg^g^  upon  what  ground  as  to  the  matter  of  activity  I  am  not 
...  able  to  perceive.     One,   of  course,   is  compelled  to  ask  what  is 

Sex?         meant  by  activity  and   inactivity  as   applied    to   spiders.      Cer- 
tainly the  words  must  be  regarded  as  relative  terms.     There  is 
a  sense  in  which  the  females  of  Sedentary  spiders  are  not  as  active  as  the 
females    of    the  Wandering  groups.      They  may  not,   indeed,   be  able  to 
make  way  over  the  ground   and  among  herbage  with   the  same  facility 
that  marks  the  Saltigrades,  Laterigrades,  and  Citigrades;  but  the  activity 
in  spinning  work   of    the    average    female    Orb  weaver  is    simply 
Female      enormous.      One   who   has  watched    the    method    by   which   the 
r  weav-g^^^^  round  webs   of  our  common  indigenous   species  are  spun, 
.j.j^j.j.  will  certainly  agree  that  the  operator  is  one  of  the  most  active 

of  creatures  in  that  department  of  work,  at  least.  The  rapidity 
with  which  the  threads  are  woven,  the  unceasing  play  of  the  hind  legs 
in  pulling  out  the  thread,  and  the  striding  of  the  other  limbs  around 
the  circle,  together  with  the  active  exercise  of  the  remaining  organs,  are 
evidences  of  immense  vigor  and  activity.  The  fact  that  such  a  large 
and  intricate  web  as  Epeira  spins  can  be  wrought  out  in  the  course  of 
half  an  hour  or  forty  minutes,  is  proof  enough  of  this  activity.  These 
snares  will  be  reproduced  several  times  a  day  if  necessary,  and  the  repro- 
duction continues  day  after  day  throughout  the  lifetime  of  the  aranead. 

So  also  the^same  vitality  of  the  female  Orb  weaver  appears  in  the  con- 
struction of  nests,  which  is  not  an  inconsiderable  work,  involving  no 
slight  exercise  of  strength,  as  well  as  of  ingenuity,  as  any  one  will  see 
by  turning  to  the  chapter  upon  Nesting  Habits,  of  this  work.  Chapter 
XVII.,  Volume  I. 

Again,  this  activity  appears  in  the  capture  of  prey.     If  any  one  will 
take  his  stand  before  an  average  orbweb  of   almost  any  common  species, 
say  Epeira  strix   or  Epeira   sclopetaria,   or  Argiope  cophinaria, 
Activity.  ^^  ^  season  when  flies  and  other  insects  abound,  and   in  a   site 
tC_      where  they  are  plenty,  he  will  be  surprised  at  the  intense  ac- 
tivity displayed   in  the  capture  of    insects.      One  after  another 
these  victims  are  seized,  swathed,  dragged  to  the  hub   or  den  to  be  de- 
voured,  and  that  with   a  display  of  vigor  in  capturing,  in  swathing,  in 
cutting  out  the  captive,   and    repairing   the  web,   which  must  strike  the 
most  casual  observer.     The  feast  will  be  left  a  number  of  times  to  seize 
and  truss  up  in  like  manner  other  victims  who  happen  to  strike  the  snare, 
and  on  each  successive  capture  the  same  tremendous  rush  and   energy  of 
action  will  be  noticed. 

^  Descent  of  Man,  chapter  ix.,  Vol.  II.,  page|],329. 


COMPARATIVE   VIEWS  OF  VARIOUS  MATING   HABITS.  71 


I  scarcely  know  a  limit  to  the  voracity  of  these  orbweaving  spiders 
whjen  full  opportunity  is  given  them  to  feed  upon  their  natural  prey; 
and  I  can  certainly  appeal  to  any  one  who  has  observed  the 
ema  e  actions  referred  to,  whether  the  whole  demeanor  of  the  aranead 
is  not  such  as  to  impress  him  with  the  sense  of  a  vast  store  of 
vitality,  and  an  almost  exhaustless  activity.  Taking,  then,  the  spinning- 
work  and  the  ordinary  action  in  capturing  prey  by  means  of  nets  as  the 
standard,  it  cannot  be  affirmed  with  truthfulness  that  female  Orbweavers 
are  inactive,  or  that  they  suffer  in  respect  of  this  element  from  compari- 
son either  with  the  Wandering  tribes  or  with  the  males  of  their  own 
species. 

I  might  go  further  and  say  that  when  a  female  Orbweaver  is  placed 
upon  the  leaves  of  a  plant,  or  even  upon  the  ground  among  the  grasses, 
she  will  display  an  amount  of  activity  in  getting  from  leaf  to  leaf,  and 
limb  to  limb,  and  from  point  to  point,  which  is  surprising  in  a  creature 
whose  habits  are  so  generally  sedentary.  I  have  often  been  amazed  at  the 
rapidity  and  facility  with  which  the  largest  Orbweavers,  as  Argiope  cophi- 
naria  and  argyraspis,  could  make  the  circuit  of  a  bush,  or  travel  over  a 
plane  surface. 

As  to  the  males  of  Orbweavers  generally,  it  is  certainly  not  in  accord- 
ance with  my  observations  that  they  are  more  active  than  the  females.  On 
the  contrary,  I  am  disposed  to  think  them  rather  lethargic  and 
„,  .  ,  sluggish  fellows.  I  am  aware  that  it  has  been  said,  in  corrobora- 
ness.  *^^^   ^^  ^^^   theory  that  the  female   is  more   inactive   than   the 

male,  that  she  will  hang  to  the  hub  of  her  orb,  or  remain  motion- 
less within  her  tent  for  hours  and  perhaps  even  days.  It  is  true ;  but 
that  action  is  quite  as  characteristic  of  the  male  as  of  the  female.  I  have 
seen  the  males  of  Cophinaria,  in  attendance  upon  a  female,  hanging  upon 
the  outer  courts  of  their  lady  love's  snare,  apparently  entirely  inactive,  for 
as  much  as  two  or  three  or  four  days  in  succession.  They  are  very  patient 
in  their  waiting,  and  make  few  movements  during  the  courting  period. 

So  also  it  may  be  said  that  those  Orbweaver  males  which  spin  webs 
that  are  as  perfect  after  their  kind  as  those  of  the  female,  show  precisely 
the  same  degree  of  patience  in  managing  their  snares  and  watching  for 
the  advent  of  insects,  as  is  shown  by  the  female. 

If  we  turn  now  to  the  Wandering  groups,  and  make  comparison  be- 
tween the  males  and  females  of  the  species  of  these  tribes,  I  am  certain 
that  it  will  be  found  that  the  females  are  as  active  as,  or  even 
Wander-  naore  active  than,  the  males.  During  certain  seasons  of  the  year, 
^^  as,  for  example,  when  they  are  carrying  their  cocoons,  they  do 

Com-  indeed  prepare  for  themselves  a  little  cave  or  silken  cell  where- 
pared,  in  they  live  until  their  young  are  hatched.  But  during  that 
period,  even,  the  Lycosids  may  be  found  running  around  upon 
the  rocks  and  over  the  fields,  dragging  their  egg  bag  after  them.     When 


72 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


the  young  are  hatched,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  observe  the  mother  wan- 
dering over  the  fields  with  all  her  offspring  piled  upon  her  abdomen  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  cephalothorax — a  strange,  and,  to  most  beholders,  a 
horrible  sight,  since  the  ordinary  observer  is  not  apt  to  associate  the  un- 
couth vision  with  the  beautiful  maternal  devotion  which  the  spider  thus 
shows,  and  which  has  its  analogue  in  the  human  mother  bearing  her 
child  in  her  arms,  or  carrying  it  upon  her  bosom.  Moreover,  the  exca- 
vating and  fitting  up  these  subterranean  homes  is  a  strong  proof  of  a  de- 
cidedly industrious  character,  and  the-  act  requires  the  exercise  of  great 
vigor,  which,  of  course,  is  exclusively  by  the  female. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  therefore,  I  am  compelled  to  think  that  among  all 
Wandering  groups  the  difference  between  the  activity  of  male  and  female 
is  certainly  not  in  favor  of  the  former.  Whatever  conclusions,  therefore, 
are  drawn  from  the  belief  that  the  male  is  possessed  of  greater  activity 
and  vital  force  than  the  female,  must,  in  my  judgment,  be  regarded  as 
erroneous.     That  he  is  more  erratic,  in  certain  species,  is  true. 


V. 

There  appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  previous  to  the  act  of  pairing,  the 
fertilizing  fluid  is  extruded  from  the  sexual  organs  of  the  male  upon  par- 
ticles of  spinningwork,  thence  is  transferred  to  the  dig- 
ital joint  of  the   male  palps  (Figs.  35  and  36),  whence 

it  is  conveyed  to  the  epigynum  of  the  female. 
Convey-  rpj^g  alternate  inflation  and  contraction  of  the 
mat     oa    P^^P^^  bulb  is  probably  the  means  by  which 

the  fertilizing  fluid  is  forced  into  its  proper 
receptacle.  Various  naturalists  have  been  able  to  estab- 
lish this  fact.  Menge  has  observed,  in  the  cases  of  Lin- 
yphia,  Agalena,  and  Lycosa,  this  fluid  collected  from 
the  sheet  like  spinningwork.^ 

Mr.  Campbell,  in  the  case  of  Tegenaria  guyonii  above 
cited,  was  able  to  confirm  this  account.  It  was  only  dur- 
ing the  last  moments  of  the  process  that  reflected  light 
permitted  him  to  see  a  triangular  silken  sheet  attached 
to  the  spider  behind  the  abdominal  sexual  organ  by  its 
apex,  and  by  its  external  angles  to  the  mesh  across 
the  bottle  in  which  the  aranead  was  confined.  The 
sheet  extended  from  under  the  abdomen  to  the  anterior 
"AfierEm-  P^i"t  of  the  stcmum,  and  lay  above  the  palps.    The  male 


Digital  joints  of  males. 
Fig.  35  (upper).  Epeira  tri- 
vittata.  Fig.  36.  Epeira 
domiciliorum,  largely 
magnified. 


erton.' 


now  left  the  sheet  and  approached  the  female ;  but  she 
api^eared  heedless  of  his  addresses.  The  observer  seized  him,  and  in  his 
attempts  to   evade   capture  he  injured  the  silken   sheet.     An   examination 


^  PreuBsische  Spinnen. 


COMPARATIVE   VIEWS   OP   VARIOUS   MATING   HABITS.  73 

showed  that  the  sides  consisted  of  many  shreds  (Fig.  37,  A),  while  the 
intervening  space  was  covered  with  an  irregular  mesh,  which  was  doubtless 
originally  more  systematically  arranged.  Here  and  there  was  a  mass  of 
semen  containing  a  fine,  granulated  substance  (Fig.  37,  B)  of  great  refract- 
ive power.  The  whole  was  in  a  very  liquid  state,  and  spermatozoa  were 
arranged  singly  above  the  threads. 

Immediately  after  the  spider  was  secured,  one  of  its  palps  was  removed. 
The  vesiculum  seminis  was  charged  with  spermatozoa,  even  to  the  embolos, 
where  they  were  plainly  seen  at  intervals.  He  could  not,  however,  discover 
any  on  the  external  parts  of  the  palpus,  Menge  is  entitled  to  the  credit 
of  discovering  the  relation  between  the  male  palpus  and  the  male  abdom- 
inal sexual  organ.  ^  « 

Ausserer  confirmed  the  observations  of  Menge  in  studies  of  Linyphia 
triangularis  and  Dictyna  benigna.^  Bertkau,  following  the  same  line  of 
investigation  with  Linyphia  montana  and  another 
species,  corroborated  these  statements.^ 

In  the  act  of  copulation  Blackwall  observed,  what 
I  have  recorded  of  Linyphia  marginata,  that  the 
palps  were  frequently  conveyed  to  the  mouth.  He 
saw  a  male  Lycosa  lugubrius  apply  his  palps  eighty 
times  to  the  vulva  of  the  female  without 
Applica-  ^Yie  possibility  of  bringing  it  into  contact 
p  ,  with  the  inferior  surface  of  its  abdomen, 

except  by  a  very  conspicuous  change  of 
position.  As  an  equal  number  of  similar  acts  was 
performed  by  the  left  palp,  we  have  the  extraor-  p„j,  37,  spermatozoa  of  Teg- 
dinary  fact  of  the  palps  being  employed  one  huii-  enaria.  x  570.  (After  camp- 
dred  and  sixty  times  during  this  greatly  protracted 

process,  unaccompanied  by  any  contact  whatever  with  the  part  where  the 
seminal  ducts  are  considered  to  terminate.* 

VL 

Whether  or  not   spiders   may  be  propagated  by  agamic  reproduction  is 

an  open  question.     I  am  at  least  satisfied  that  females  will  produce  cocoons 

without  previous  pairing  with  the  male.     It  is  reasonably  certain, 

Agamic     ^jgQ^  ^j^g^^  jjj  some  species  a  single  act  of  fecundation  suffices  for 

epro-       ^Y[   i\^Q   gprg-g   laid   for   several  years   in   succession,  where   life  is 
duction.  °°  "^ 

continued  that  long.     Audebert  brought   up   and   kept  for   some 

years  many  individuals  of  the  domestic  spider,  probably  Tegenaria  domestica. 

1  "  Ueber  die  Lebensweise  der  Arachniden,"  Neuste  Schriften  der  Naturf.  Gesellsch.  Danzig, 
Vol.  IV.,  1843. 

^  "  Beobachtungen  iiber  die  Lebensweise,  Fortpflanzung  und  Entwicklung  der  Spinnen," 
Zeistchr.  Ferdinandeums,  1867. 

^"  Ueber  den  Generationsapparat  der  Arachniden,"  Arch.  Nat.  Gesch.,  1875,  page  254. 

*  Zoolog.  Researches,  page  315. 


74  AMEKICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

Some  females  which  had  been  isolated,  produced  in  succession  several  gen- 
erations, each  in  its  order  being  equally  fruitful.^ 

Mr.  F.  Maule  Campbell  records  an  example  of  probable  parthenogenesis 
in  the  common  English  house  spider.  An  immature  female  of  Tegenaria 
guyonii  was  taken  and  boxed  in  May,  It  moulted  twice,  and  survived 
during  the  winter  confined  within  a  large  glass  bottle.  Herein  she  quite 
domesticated  herself,  and  was  fed  throughout  the  winter.  In  the  early  part 
of  April  she  spun  the  ordinary  cocoon  of  her  species,  within  which  she 
deposited  eggs,  and  about  a  month  thereafter  she  died.  On  the  7th  of 
June,  Mr.  Campbell,  observing  some  movement  in  the  cocoon,  separated  the 
sheets  enclosing  the  eggs  and  found  that  two  spiders  had  been  hatched. 
Twelve  eggg  still  retained  vitality,  while  the  rest  were  hard  and  shriveled. 
The  fertility  of  this  spider,  after  a  confinement  of  eleven  months,  during 
which  time  she  twice  moulted,  can  only  be  explained  by  one  of  the  follow- 
ing alternate  causes :  First,  that  she  was  impregnated  previous  to  the  cast- 
ing of  the  two  exuviae  in  an  early,  and  therefore  immature,  stage ;  second, 
that  parthenogenesis  occurs  in  true  spiders.  ^ 

Mr.  Campbell  is  inclined  to  believe  that  the  case  recorded  by  him  is 
one  of  agamic  reproduction,  inasmuch  as  he  could  find  no  lumen  in  the 
exuviae  through  which  impregnation  could  have  taken  place.  This  is  jus- 
tified by  the  opinion  of  Bertkau,  which  expresses  the  general  belief  of  ara- 
neologists :  this  much  is  certain,  that  spiders  immediately  upon  or  shortly 
after  the  final  moult  become  sexually  mature.^ 

^  Cuvier,  Animal  Kingdom,  Lond.  Ed.,  Vol.  XIII.,  page  468,  supplement. 

2  Jour.  Linn.  Soc.  Zool.,  Vol.  XVI.,  page  538. 

'  "Ueber  den  Generationsapparat  der  Araneiden,"  page  253. 


PART  II -MATERNAL  INDUSTRY  AND  INSTINCTS. 

CHAPTER    lY. 

MATERNAL  INDUSTRY :   COCOONS  OF  ORB  WEAVERS. 

The  maternal  industry  of  spiders  is  concerned  chiefly  in  the  preparation 
of  the  silken  sac  within  which  the  eggs  are  deposited.  It  includes  also  the 
various  methods  by  which  this  sac,  when  woven,  is  disposed  of  in  order 
to  secure  a  greater  protection  for  its  contents  from  exigencies  of  climate 
and  weather,  and  assaults  of  enemies,  I  shall  treat  this  part  of  my  subject 
after  the  methods  previously  adopted,  and  describe  in  detail  the  cocooning 
habits  of  Orb  weavers,  and  then  present  brief  studies  of  the  cocoonery  of 
typical  species  of  other  tribes,  with  a  view  to  comparison  as  to  various 
points,  such  as  the  form,  number,  modes  of  preservation,  and  construction. 

I. 

Among  Orbweavers,  the  largest  cocoon  known  to  me  is  that  of  Basket 
Argiope.     It  is  usually  a  pyriform  or  globular  flask  or  sac  of  stiff,  parch- 
ment like,  yellowish  silk,  suspended  in  various  sites  by. a  series 

r^ope  s  ^£  gjjQj.^  lines  passing  from  all  parts  thereof  to  surrounding  ob- 
Cocoons.    .  r  . 

jects.     These  lines,  at  the  points  of  attachment  to   the  cocoon, 

diverge  into  minute  conical  or  pyramidal  deltas,  similar  to  those  formed  to 

anchor  the  usual  dragline  when  the  spider  walks. 

The  objects  upon  which  the  cocoons  are  hung  depend,  of  course,  upon 
the  local  habitat  of  the  individual.  For  the  most  part,  Argiope  spins  her 
web  in  low  positions;  on  the  tall  grasses  growing  in  the  angles  of  a  rail 
or  "worm"  fence;  on  the  miscellaneous  shrubbery  that  will  be  seen  along 
the  edge  of  a  New  England  stone  fence ;  in  the  low  bushes  of  various  sorts 
found  in  fields,  lanes,  the  skirts  of  woods,  and  out  of  the  way  places — one 
will  be  sure  to  meet  these  pear  shaped  objects  in  October  or  early  November. 

A  collection  that  lies  before  me  as  I  write  will  be  sufficiently  typical 

of  the  positions  in  which  Argiope  spins  her  cocoons.     Here  is  a  cluster  of 

tall  grasses,  upon  which  two  cocoons  are  hung.    One,  with  a  brown 

~.,  '     external  case,  is  suspended  within  a  series  of  closely  intersecting 

'  yellowish  threads,  which   are  lashed   to   the   stalks   of  the  grass 

eight  inches  from  the  roots.     Just  within  the  little  concavity  formed  by  the 

stems  as  they  have  been  puUed  together  in  a  circular  position,  the  little 

(75) 


76 


AMEEICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


flask,  with  its  precious  contents,  is  swung.  At  the  top  of  this  clump  a 
second  cocoon  is  placed.  It  is  of  a  yellowish  white  color,  and,  in  order  to 
give  it  a  proper  site,  the  tops  of  the  spears  of  grass  have  been  pulled  down 
and  twisted  together,  so  that  the  capsules,  or  graceful  clusters  of  seed  vessels, 
hang  around  the  cocoon  on  every  side,  giving  it  a  beautiful  setting.  These 
cocoons  are  eleven  inches  apart,  and  were  probably  spun  by  two  spiders. 

Another  example  is  hung 
in  the  very  midst  of  a  tall 
field  chrysanthemum.  The 
cocoon  is  much  larger  than 
those  just  described,  and  is 
of  a  rounder  shape.  Two 
branches  of  the  plant  have 
been  drawn  towards  each  oth- 
er, and  these  again 
towards    the    cen- 


Among 
Chrysan- 
themums. 


tral  stalk.     With- 
in the  space  thus 
circumscribed  the  egg  sac  is 
suspended   in   the   midst  of 
a  maze  of  lines  attached  at 
one  end  to  the  cocoon,  and 
at  the  other  to  various  parts 
of  leaves  and  stems  of  the 
plant.     It  is  about  eighteen 
inches  from  the  ground,  and 
forms  a  pretty  object  amidst 
the  balled  white  blossoms  of 
chrysanthemum.     (Fig.  39.) 
A  third  and  fourth  spec- 
imens  are  hung  in   similar 
positions    within    the     out- 
branching   limbs  of  a  wild 
flower     unknown     to     me, 
which  is  thick  set  with  little 
white    blossoms.      Still    an- 
other is  hung  within  a  little 
canopy  formed  by  the  leaves 
of  a  blackberry  vine,   that   have  the  beautiful   hues   with   which,   in   our 
climate,  the  autumn  is  wont  to  paint  the  foliage.     Still  another  is  suspended 
beneath  a  similar   canopy,  formed  of   leaves  on  a  young   maple 

_,         .      bush.     Another  has  a  similar  site  within  the  clustered  leaves  of 
Canopies. 

a  fragrant  honeysuckle  vine ;   and  yet  one  more  has  been   sus- 
pended  upon  the  leaf   stalks   and    under   the  leaves  of    our  well   known 


Fig.  38.    Cocoon  of  Argiope  cophinaria,  hung.in  the  tops  of  grasses. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OP    ORBWEAVERS. 


77 


V(     V 


M 


\, 


Virginia  creeper.  A  pretty 
environment,  indeed,  this  last 
one,  but  of  less  stability  than 
beauty;  for,  as  the  autumn  ad- 
vanced, and  the  leaves  of  the 
ampelopsis  dropped  to  the 
ground,  the  egg  case,  so  care- 
fully wrought  by  the  mother 
while  expending  upon  rt  the 
last  energies  of  her  life,  fell 
to  the  ground,  and  probably 
would  have  soon  mingled  with 
mother  earth  had  it  not  been 
rescued  by  the  collector's  hand. 
These  cases  will  sufficiently  il- 
lustrate the  natural  sites  chosen 
by  this  spider  upon  which  to 
suspend  her  cocoon. 

The  hanging  of  the  silken 
flask  is  not  without  an  evi- 
dence of  nice  care  and  discrim- 
ination in  the  adjustment  of  its 
supports.  The  guy  lines  are 
commonly  so  placed  upon  the 
different   parts  of  the   cocoon, 


Fig.  39.    Cocoons  of  Argiope  cophinaria,  swung  among  field  grasses  and  wild  flowers. 


78 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Indoor 
Sites. 


and  so  stretched  and  fastened  to  adjacent  objects,  that  the  mother  leaves 

her  precious  casket  so  >vell  poised  and  finely  hung  that  even  the  strongest 

wind  fails  to  disturb  its  balance  when  a  good  position  has  been  selected. 

In  this  position  it  will  commonly  remain  until  the  brood  is  hatched ;  but, 

as  we  have  already  seen,  sometimes  the  mother's  care  is  misplaced. 

_^  }  ^   It   sometimes   happens    that  the   cocoon   is    simply   anchored    to 

leaves,  and,  when  the  autumn  brings  the  usual  fall  of  foliage,  it 

is  carried  down  to  the  ground.     There,  buried  among  rubbish,  covered  with 

snows  and  rains,  the  chances  for  development  of  the  young  are  seemingly 

not  very  good.     Yet  even  thus  it  is  possible  that,   in  sites  comparatively 

undisturbed  by  tramping  feet  of  men  and  animals,  the  eggs  may  remain 

healthful  throughout  winter,  and  yield  their 
broodling  Argiopes  when  spring  suns  dissolve 
the  snow  and  the  spring  wind  has  scattered 
the  leaves. 

It  is  not  an  unusual  thing  for  Cophinaria 
to  hang  her  cocoon  in  the  angle  of  walls  in 
a  house  or  outbuilding.     (Fig.  40.) 
I  have  met  a  number  of  such  cases 
in  the  outlying   parts   of   Philadel- 
phia, as,  :^r  example,  Germantown  and  West 
Philadelphia.     There    still    remain   in    those 
sections  a  number   of  gardens  and  spacious 
yards,  within  which  this  large  and  beautiful 
creature  has  maintained  her  position  against 
all  encroachments  of    civilization    since    the 
landing  of  the  Swedish  pioneers.    Their  snares 
are  woven  upon  the  vines  which  cluster  about 
arbors,  outbuildings,  and  verandahs ;  and  it  is 
a  common  thing  for  the  mother,  when  the 
cocooning  time  has  come,  to  slip  underneath 
a  roof  or  cornice,  and  there  suspend  her  egg  sac. 

In  this  case  she  protects  it  by  a  slender  encasement  of  retitelarian  lines 
spun  entirely  around  it.  A  cocoon  thus  disposed  is  represented  at  Fig.  40, 
as  it  was  found  in  the  early  summer  in  the  basement  of  a  hotel  at  Atlantic 
City.  The  enclosing  lines  were  from  seven  to  eight  inches  high,  and  of 
about  equal  width.  The  lines  were  much  soiled  by  dust,  the  accumulation 
of  winter  and  spring,  but  the  cocoon  proved  to  contain  many  healthy 
spiders,  although  in  the  lower  part  it  was  infested  with  parasitic  ichneu- 
mon flies. 

Another  case  of  suspension  within  doors  offered  an  interesting  exception 
to  the  usual  mode.  This  cocoon  was  hung  in  the  angle  of  the  walls  of  a 
room  in  Sedgley  House,  at  Fairmount  Park,  Philadelphia,  the  headquarters 
of  Captain  Chasteau,  of  the  Park  Guard,  who  said  that  it  was  made  about 


Fig.  40.  Cophinaria's  cocoon  suspended 
in  the  angle  of  a  wall  in  the  midst  of 
crossed  lines. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OP   ORBWEAVERS. 


79 


October  1st.     When  first  observed,  it  was  a  round  ball,  which  was  gradually- 
wrought  into  a  pear  shaped  object.     This,  when  I  saw  it,  was  hung  from 

the    under    side    of    a 
Cocoon      sheeted     curtain    (Fig. 

^  ,  .  41),  that  curved  over 
Curtain.         ^'  .-,-,.■, 

and    extended    like    a 

bridge  from  the  shield  shaped 
hub  of  the  snare  to  the  adjacent 
wall.  The  curtain  terminated  in 
a  pocket,  from  the  bottom  of 
which  the  cocoon  was  suspended. 
The  cocoon  was  thus  just  behind 
the  orb  which  was  spun  across 
the  angle  about  seven  feet  from 
the  floor.  The  characteristic  zig- 
zag ribbon  of  the  web  extended 
well  downward,  and  a  number  of 
lines  stretched  from  side  to  side 
across  the  angle,  nearly  to  the 
floor,  forming  a  convenient  gang- 
way for  the  spider. 

Immediately  after  finishing 
her  work  the  mother  spider  be- 
gan to  languish.  She  would  not 
take  flies  as  aforetime  when  of- 
fered to  her.  Once  she  tried  to 
escape  from  the  room  into  the 
Park,  but  was  brought  back,  and 
placed  upon  her  lower  gangway 
lines,  which  she  mounted,  with  great  apparent  difficulty,  to  the  central 
shield,  behind  which  she  stationed  herself.  She  was  found  dead  upon  the 
floor  one  morning,  having  lived  only  a  few  days  after  the 
completion  of  her  cocoon. 

The  cocoons  of  Cophinaria  vary  in  length  from  five- 
eighths  of  an  inch  to  one  inch  and  five-eighths.  Three  meas- 
urements between  these  limits  are  one  and  a  half,  one  and 
a  fourth,  and  one  and  one-eighth  inches.  The  bowl  is  gen- 
erally about  one  inch  wide,  and  the  flask  one-eighth  inch 
^    ,„   ,        ^        wide  at  the  tip  of  the  neck.     The  bowls  are  for  the  most 

Fig.  42.  A  round  co-  ^ 

coon  of  Argiope    part  dccidcdly  pyriform  in  shape,  but  sometimes  are  spher- 
cophinaria.  |^^j  iustcad  of  oval.     As  the  spiderlings  grow  a  little  within 

the  sac  after  hatching,  the  bowl  somewhat  expands,  or  rather  fulls  out,  but 

the  original  shape  remains  substantially  unchanged. 

The  structure  of  the  cocoon  is  as  follows :  First,  the  outer  case  or  shell 


Fig.  41.     Cocoon  of  Argiope  suspended  from  a  curtain 
behind  her  snare  in  Sedgley  House. 


80 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  43.     Section  view 
of  cocoon  of  Argiope 


(Figs.  43,  44,  o.c)  is  usually  a  thin,  stiff,  parchment  like  substance,  that 
feels  dry,  and  crackles  under  the  touch,  as  though  glazed.  It  is  substan- 
tially water  tight.  I  have  found  several  cocoons  of  a  softer 
material,  and  thicker,  much  like  a  delicate  yellow  felt. 
The  glazing  above  mentioned  is  not  the  result  of  ageing 
or  weathering  simply,  but  is  produced  by  the  action  of 
the  spider  herself,  perhaps  by  the  overspreading  of  the 
viscid  secretion  which  forms  the  beads  on  the  spirals  of 
a  snare. 

When  this   outer  case   is  cut  away  there  is   first  pre- 
sented a  flossy  envelope  (f.e)  of  soft  yellowish  silk,  which 
quite  surrounds  the  contents  of  the  bowl.     Next  is  a  dark 
cophinaria.  fe,  flossy    browu  pyriform  or   spherical  pad  of  spinningwork  (p.d), 

envelope   inside   the  i.,  ,i  ,■,  iji-,  •  .i-i 

outer  case,  oc;  p.d,    which  swathcs  the  eggs   Completely,   interposing  a   thick, 
the  brown  padding;    warm,  silkcu  blanket  between  them  and  the  external  case. 

c.u,  the  cup  or  dish      ^-^         ■,  pi-i«  i 

against   which    the    Oil  the  uppcr  part  or  this  pad  is  a  plate  or  cup  (cu),  oi 
eggs  (e)  are  deposited;    jjj^g   color  and   closcr   texturc,  with   the   concavity  down- 

c.a,  cap  covering  the  '  ^  "^         _ 

egg  cup ;  c.s,  suspen-    Ward.     I  liavc  at  Icast  once  found   this  to  be  a  whitish 

sion  cord.  ^-^j^    ^^    ^^-^    ^.jj^^       rpj^^    ^^^^    ^^    g^^jj^    ^^^-^    ^f    ^^^    ^^^^^^^ 

is  filled  with  a  compact  silken  cone  (c.s),  of  a  yellowish  or  brown  color, 
which  is  united  at  the  base  to  the  egg  plate  (cu),  and  at  the  top  terminates 
in  a  strong  twisted  cord  (c.s),  which  sometimes  extends  upwards  and  forms 
the  central  support  to  the  cocoon.  Next  to  the  brown  pad  is  often  a  thin 
flossy  envelope,  which  surrounds  the  egg  sac. 
The  latter  is  a  rather  closely  spun  pouch  of 
variable  tenacity,  and  whitish  or  pinkish 
white  color,  that  encloses  the  thousand  or 
more  eggs  which  lie  in  a  globular  mass  with- 
in the  heart  of  the  cocoon.  The  inner  egg 
sac  (e)  is  attached  above  to  the  plate  or  cup 
(cu),  which,  after  the  spiderlings  hatch,  is 
pushed  upward  by  them  not  unlike  a  trap- 
door, permitting  them  to  creep  out  into  the 
surrounding  padding,  leaving  their  white 
shells  within  the  sac. 

The  plate  serves  to  support  the  eggs,  which 
are  probably  oviposited  upward  against  it. 
One  female,  confined  within  a  box,  got  so  far 
in  the  construction  of  her  cocoon  as  to  spin 
the  plate,  but  went  no  farther,  leaving,  how- 
ever, this  evidence  of  the  point  at  which  her  ovipositing  would  have  begun. 

The  genus  Argiope  is  widely  distributed  throughout  the  globe,  and  the 
cocooning  habit  of  the  species  has  elsewhere  the  same  characteristics  as  in 
America.    Argiope  fasciata  of  Southern  Europe  and  Northern  Africa  makes 


Fig.  44.    Cocoon  of  Cophinaria  dissected 
to  show  the  parts.  Letters  as  in  Fig.  43. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


81 


a  cocoon  much  like  that  of  our  Cophinaria.  Fig.  46  shows  the  external 
case,  and  Fig.  45  gives  a  section  view  of  the  central  egg  sac,  supported  in 
the  midst  of  a  bunch  of  loose  flossy  silk.^ 

I  have  found  numbers  of   Cophinaria's  cocoons  on  vacant  city  lots  in 
Philadelphia,  strung  to  .the  stems   of  tall  weeds  on  either  side  of  a  well 

traveled  footpath.  The  mothers  had  safely  passed  through  the 
j^       ^      perils   of   assaulting   boys   and    voracious   birds,    and    left   these 

tokens  of  their  maternal  care  in  this  conspicuous  spot.  As  far 
as  examined  the  cocoons  contained  broods  of  healthy  spiders.  One  excep- 
tion, however,  permitted  me  to  see  the  position  and  structure  of  the  egg 
mass.  It  is  a  hemispherical  mass  five-sixteenths  of  an  inch  high  and 
wide.  The  eggs  are  bright  yellow,  contained  within  a  delicate  white  or 
pink  hued  membranous  silken  sac,  through  which  they  can  be  seen  in 
outline. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  there  is  some  variety  among  the  mother 
Argiopes   in  the  manner  of  preparing  a   cocoon.     I   have   one  before  me 

which   is  composed. 


Variation  ^^.g^  ^^  ^  g^f^  gjl^^en 

in  Struct-      ,     .  ,1 

exterior  case;   then, 

ure.  .  ' 

of  three  easily  sep- 
arated layers  of  delicate  yellow 
silken  tissue,  extremely  soft 
and  beautiful.  Next  to  these 
layers  is  the  loose  yellow  flossy 
mass  hitherto  described,  and 
then  the  brown  padding  which 
surrounds  the  egg  sac  proper. 
This  brown  padding  is  not  as  ^    ,,  ^    ,„ 

^  =•  Fig.  45.  FiG.  46. 

abundant    as    I    COmmOnlv   find     P'ig.  46.    cocoon  case  of  Argiope  fasciata.       Fig.  45.    Section  of 

it,  for  the  reason,  perhaps,  that  '^^''  *°  ^^°"  '""^  ''"*'"^'  '^^  '^'-  ^^'^^  ^'^^'^"^ 

the  yellow  silken  envelope  is  so  much  more  pronounced.  Another  cocoon 
before  me  has  in  it  nothing  but  the  brown  padding,  scarcely  a  trace  of 
yellow  floss,  and  no  layers  such  as  above  described.  I  account  for  the 
distinct  layers  by  supposing  that  they  were  woven  between  well  marked 
intervals  of  resting. 

The  Banded  Argiope  is  not  as  common  a  spider,  at  least  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  as  her  congener   Cophinaria.     Her   life   ap- 
pears to  be  prolonged  a  little  further  into  the  autumn,  for  I  find 
Argiope    YiGT  upon  the  bushes  when  the  Basket  Argiope  has  entirely  dis- 

."         appeared.     Her  cocoon  is   therefore  made,  as  a  rule,  somewhat 
raspis.  ^^  .  .     ,  ... 

later ;   but  it  is   suspended   in  a  similar  manner  and  in  similar 

sites.     I  do  not  find  it  often,  and,  as  compared  with  the  cocoon  of  Cophinaria, 


Cuvier,  Regne  Animal,  Arachnides,  pi.  li. 


82 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


it  is  rare.  It  seems  to  be  less  fond  of  human  society,  or  else  less  able 
to    stand    the    exigencies    of    civilization    than    Cophinaria.     In    outlying 

sections,  where  Nature  has  been  less  disturbed 
by  men,  it  may  probably  be  found  more  readily. 
It  is  suspended  by  means  of  silken  guys  to  the 
leaves  and  stalks  of  grass  or  low  growing  plants, 
which  are  bent  over  and  also  lashed  together 
above  the  swinging  egg  nest  in  the  manner  rep- 
resented at  Fig.  47.  Again,  it  may  be  found  as 
at  Fig.  48,  swung  in  the  midst  of  a  retitelarian 
maze  woven  amidst  the  branches  and  leaves  of  a 
bush,  or,  as  at  Fig.  49,  seated  and  suspended  in 
the  crotches  of  a  wild  meadow  flower. 

The  shape  of  her  cocoon  differs  from  Coph- 
inaria's  in  being  hemispheroidal  instead  of  pyri- 
form ;  in  other  words,  it  resembles  the  lower  half 
of  a  spheroid.  Across  the  wide  top  is  Stretched  a 
circular  piece  of  silk,  like  the  head  of  an  Indian 
drum.  (Fig.  50.)  The  outer  case  is  of  stiff  yellow 
silk,  as  is  also  the  head  or  top ;  this  part,  in  a 
cocoon  now  before  me,  is  somewhat  darker  in  color 
than  the  rest  of  the  case.  A  marginal  flap  sur- 
rounds the  head,  and  has  various  points  to  which 
guy  lines  were  attached  in  site.  (See  Fig.  50.)  The  height  and  width  of  the 
cocoon  are  about  the  same — one-half  inch.  When  the  outer  case  is  cut  aside, 
as  at  Fig.  51,  the  interior  is  seen  to  con- 
sist, first,  of  a  yellow  flossy  envelope, 
which  is  packed  between  the  inner  wall ; 
and,  second,  an  egg  pad,  which  is  not 
composed  of  purple  silk  as  in  Cophinaria, 
but  of  yellow  silk  plush  loosely  woven, 
and  is  three-eighths  of  an  inch  long. 
Within  this  are  the  eggs.  Immediately 
above  is  the  egg  cover  of  white  silk 
plush,  which  is  commonly  flat,  not  con- 
cave as  with  Cophinaria.  It  is  about 
one-eighth  inch  thick,  and  is  attached 
firmly  by  silken  threads  to  the  inside 
of  the  top   of   the   case.      Against  this 

cover,  no    doubt,    the    eggs   are    oviposited    Fig.  48.    Cocoon  of  Argiopeargyraspis,  suspended 
°°  T    ,  ,  amidst  supporting  cross  lines  upon  a  bush. 

upwards,   and  are  then  covered  by  the 

mother  spider.  The  portion  of  the  egg  cover  is  shown  at  Fig.  51,  where 
one  edge  adheres  to  the  remaining  part  of  the  top  of  the  case,  and  also 
at  Fig.  52,  where  the  object  is  viewed  from  the  side. 


Fig.  47.  Banded  Argiope's  cocoon 
beneath  a  canopy  of  leaves  and 
grass  tops. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS, 


83 


Among  various   other    examples  of    California    spinningwork    received 
from  Mrs.  Eigenmann  and   Mr.  R.  L.  Orcutt,  of  San  Diego,  were  several 
cocoons  of  rare  beauty.     They  were  lenticular  or  hemispheroidal 
Argiope    masses,  of  a  yellowish,  yellowish  green,  and  green  color.      (See 
,     J  figures,  Plate  IV.)     They  were  pulled  out  into  angles  at  the  flat 

side,  as  though  they  had  been  suspended  by  threads  at  the  an- 
gular points.  They  varied  somewhat  in 
size,  from  three-fourths  of  an  inch  to  an 
inch  long,  one-half  inch  wide,  and  three- 
eighths  high.  It  was  long  a  matter  of 
M'onder  and  discussion  with  me  what  spe- 
cies formed  these  beautiful  egg  nests.  Mr. 
Orcutt  finally  attributed  them  to  Argiope 
argenteola,  without  giving  a  reason  for  his 
opinion.  The  question  was  at  last  settled 
by  a  living  female  specimen  of  that  spider 
sent  me  by  Mrs.  Eigenmann,  which,  hap- 
pily, reached  me  alive,  but  very  feeble.  I 
placed  her  under  a  trying  box,  fed  her 
with  water  and  flies,  and  she  revived. 
The  following  morning  a  cocoon  was  hung 
within  the  box,  whose  shape  and  color 
solved  the  mystery,  and  proved  that  Mr. 
Orcutt  was  correct  in  attributing  the  co- 
coon to  Argenteola. 

This  cocoon  was  a  keystone  shaped 
patch  of  white  sheeted  silk,  upon  which 
was  raised  a  greenish  button  that  enclosed 
the  egg  mass.  (Fig.  53.)  The  white  color 
of  the  sheet  can  hardly  be  characteristic, 
for  in  specimens  before  me  this  part  is 
green. 

The  whole  was  suspended  between  lines 
that  were  attached  above  to  the  lower  foun- 
dation lines  of  the  orb,  and  to  the  sides  and 
bottom  of  the  box  beneath.  Evidently  the 
spider,  in  spinning  her  cocoon,  had  first 
stretched  the  sheet,  and  against  or  within 

this  had  placed  her  eggs,  which  she  then  proceeded  to  overspin  in  the  usual 
manner,  though,  of  course,  it  is  not  impossible  that  in  this  and  like  cases 
the  cocoon  may  be  framed  upon  a  flat  surface  and  then  raised  and  sus- 
pended in  the  above  described  position.  In  general  appearance  this  cocoon 
resembles  that  of  Epeira  rather  than  the  typical  Argiope  cocoons  as  rep- 
resented by  our  two  familiar  species,  Cophinaria  and  Argyraspis.     But  in 


Fig.  49.  Cocoon  of  Argiope  argyraspis, 
hung  upon  the  stalks  and  leaves  of  a 
wild  flower. 


84 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  50.  Fig.  51.  Fig.  52. 

Fig.  50.    Cocoon  of  Arglope  argyraspis.    X  2.       Fio.  51.    Interior,  showing 
padding,  eggs,  and  the  egg  cover.       Fig.  52.    Side  view  of  the  egg  cover. 


the  manner  of  suspension,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  egg  case,  Argen- 
teola  resembles  her  congeners.^ 

A  cocoon,  when  dissected,  shows   two   principal   parts — the  basal  sheet 
above  referred  to,  and  the  cup  or  case  which  is  set  upon  it.     Both  these 

parts  consist  of  closely 
woven  silk,  like  that 
which  forms  the  out- 
er case  of  Cophinaria 
and  Argyraspis,  the 
latter  of  which  it  most 
resembles.  This  cup 
is  of  a  yellow  or  yel- 
lowish green  color, 
and  the  deep  green 
tints  appear  most  de- 
cidedly in  slight  flossy  tufts,  which  here  and  there  overspread  it.  The 
inner  surface  of  the  basal  sheet  is  overspread  with 
white  silk.  Within  the  case  is  a  ball  of 
„,  ,  white  flossy  curled  silk,  which  forms  the 
inner  upholstery  of  the  nest.  It  thus  ap- 
pears, that  while  the  cocoonery  of  this  remarkable 
spider  resembles  that  of  Epeira  in  its  external  shape 
and  the  nature  of  the  interior  furnishing,  yet  in 
the  texture  of  the  case  and  manner  of  suspension 
it  is  like  the  cocoonery  of  its  congeners.  In  the 
example  produced  in  my  trying  box  the  basal 
sheet  is  hung  vertically.  If  it  were  suspended  hor- 
izontally, with  the  egg  case  downward  (Fig.  54),  it 
would  closely  resemble  an  Argyraspis'  cocoon, 

Mrs.  Eigenmann  tells  me  that  Argenteola  makes 
more  than  one  cocoon.  A  specimen  which  had  spun 
a  web  in  her  sitting  room  placed  a  cocoon  upon  it  somewhat  in  the  posi- 
tion observed  by  myself,  as  above  described;  but 
shortly  after  (the  time  is  not  specified)  a  second 
cocoon  was  formed  upon  the  web  about  two  inches 
below  the  first  one.  A  few  days  previous  to  this 
cocooning  the'  spider  neglected  to  eat,  and  paid 
no  attention  to  the  flies  placed  upon  her  web. 
The  discoverer  had  concluded  that  the  creature's 


Fig.  53.  Cocoon  of  Argiope  ar- 
genteola ;  front  view.  Natural 
size. 


Pig.  54.  Cocoon  of  Argiope  ar- 
genteola ;  side  view.  About  nat- 
ural size. 


mission  was  ended  and  death  would  soon  ensue,  but  was  surprised  to  find 


1  Koch  has  described  species  from  South  America  which  closely  resemble  A.  argenteola, 
and  perhaps  may  be  tlie  same.  See  Arachniden,  Tafeln  5-8,  Fig.  360,  Arg.  argentatus,  and 
Fig.  361,  Arg.  fenestrinus. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


85 


its  lethargy  only  the  condition  naturally  preceding  cocooning.     The  sec- 
ond cocoon  was  a  little  larger  and  more  flocculent  than  the  first. 

After  this  maternal  duty  the  mother 
disposed  of  the  flies  that  were  entangled 
in  her  web,  without  any  hesitation.  This 
was  not  the  end  of  the  matter,  however, 
for  on  the  14th  of  December,  just  three 
weeks  after  the  second  cocoon  had  been 
spun,  a  third  was  made,  which  was  like- 
wise attached  to  the  web.  On  the  after- 
noon of  January  6th,  three  weeks  after 
this  last  maternal  act,  the  spider  lost  her 
grip  upon  the  meshes  of  her  web  and 
fell  dead  to  the  floor,  having  been  in  the 
possession  of  the  observer  three  months. 

II. 

The  genus  Epeira,  which  includes  our 

best  known  and  most  numerous  species 

of   Orbweavers,   has    little   va- 

„^^  riety   among   its    most  typical 

Cocoons.  •'.        .      ^       n  r    -J. 

species  HI  the  form  or  its  co- 
coons, the  manner  of  protection,  and 
nature  of  sites  selected  for  them.  The 
general  form  is  that  of  a  ball,  hemi- 
sphere, or  semiovoid  mass  of  thick,  silken 
floss,  that  enswathes  a  white  silken  bag, 
within  which  a  number  of  eggs,  usually 
yellow,  are  massed.  This  is  fastened  in 
any  convenient  and  eligible  position,  at- 
tached directly  to  the  surface  or  hung 
amid  supporting  threads.  I  have  strip- 
ped from  a  decaying  trunk  a  bit  of  bark 
eighteen  inches  long,  on  which  one  could 
count  forty  or  fifty  of  these  cocoons  in- 
termingled with  those  of  Agalena  naevia 
and  other  Tubeweavers,  and  of  Lateri- 
grades,  as  well  as  the  white  silken  tubes 
of  Saltigrades.  (Fig.  55.)  Often  the 
dried  bodies  of  the  mothers,  who  had 
died  shortly  after  their  last  maternal 
care  and  work,  were  found  clinging  to 
the  nurseries  of  their  young.  When  deposited  in  such  sites  the  eggs 
rarely  have  any  other  protection  in  the  way  of  spinningwork   than  the 


Fig.  55. 


Cocoons  of  Epeira  underneath  the 
bark  of  an  old  tree. 


86 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  57. 


Fia.  56. 


Fig.  58. 


Fig.  59. 


Fig.  60. 

Fig.  56.  Globular  cocoon  of  Insular  spider,  spun  in  a  paper  box.  Fig.  57.  Cocoon  of  Epeira  insularis, 
woven  against  a  leaf  within  a  glass  tumbler.  (Natural  size.)  Fig.  58.  Cocoon  of  Epeira  domicili- 
orum,  within  a  curled  leaf.  Fig.  59.    Epeira  cocoon  enclosed  within  a  curled  leaf.       Fig.  60. 

Epeira  cocoons  overspun  with  a  common  tent. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:   COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


87 


Cocoon  of 
Insularis 


Fig.  61.    Epeira  cocoon  in  angle  of  a  wall,  protected 
by  a  tent  or  palisade  of  lines. 


flossy  cocoon  case,  the  shelter  of  the  bark  being,  no  doubt,  sufficient  barrier 
against  assault  of  enemies  and  stress  of  weather.     A  favorite  site  of  this 
sort  is  the  trunk  of  an   old   hickory  tree,  whose  flaky  outer  bark,  curled 
up  at  the  free  ends,  offers  an  acces- 
sible retreat. 

A  cocoon  of  Insularis,  in  my  col- 
lection, spun  within  a  small  paper 
box,  is  a  globular  ball  of 
yellow  silken  plush  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  in  di- 
ameter and  of  a  light  yellow  color. 
(See  Plate  IV.,  Vol.  II.)  It  is  hung 
against  the  side  of  the  box  (Fig.  56) 
in  the  midst  of  a  maze  of  short  right 
lines  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  and 
high.  These  lines  are  knotted  to- 
gether at  innumerable  points,  which  are  marked  by  little  white  dots.  This 
meshed  envelope  extends  nearly  to  the  cocoon,  and  certainly  appears  to 
be  a  sufficient  barricade  against  hymenopterous  invaders,  although  it  was 
not  able  to  save  the  eggs  from  those  universal  and  well  nigh  irresistible 
pests  of  collections,  the  Dermestidse.  I  have  another  cocoon  of  this  species 
similarly  disposed  within  an  inverted  glass  tumbler,  under  which  the 
mother  had  been  confined.  She  attached  herseK  to  the  bottom  of  the 
glass  (#he  top  when  inverted),  and,  as  is  the  custom  of  her  kind,  hung 
there  back  downward  until  the  period  of  cocooning.     (Fig.  57.)     Not  long 

after  she  died,  and  her  dried 
up  form  is  partly  shown  in 
the  drawing.  The  spots 
upon  the  glass  represent  the 
points  of  attachment  for  the 
supporting  lines  of  the  co- 
coon, and  are  little  pats  of 
adhering  silk. 

Sometimes  cocoons  are 
found  laid  against  a  leaf 
which  has  been  drawn 
around  it,  as  at  Figs.  58 
and  59,  reminding  one  of 
the  manner  in  which  cer- 
tain lepidopterous  larvae 
protect  themselves   before  they  pass  into  the  pupa  state.     When  this  sort 


Fig.  62.    Cocoon  of  Epeira  domicUiorum,  woven  upon  a  pine  tree. 


of  protection  is  secured  for  the  eggs,  viz.,  a  leafy  covering  around  the 
egg  pad,  no  further  envelope  is  added,  precisely  as  when  the  eggs  are 
laid  upon  the  under  side  of  bark  and  stones. 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


In  other  cases,  however,  as  in  the  angles  of  walls,  porches,  outhouses, 
etc.,  the  silken  egg  pad  is  itself  enclosed  in  a  tent  of  spinningwork  more 
or  less  open.  (Fig.  60.)  In  some  cases  this  tent  is  little  more  than  a 
series  of  lines  drawn  across  the  angle  at  a  little  distance  from  the  cocoon, 

as  at  Fig.  61.  Strix,  Sclo- 
petaria,  and  Domiciliorum 
are  all  in  the  habit  of  weav- 
ing around  their  cocoons 
such  a  tent. 

A  Domicile  spider,  which 
I  found  in  the  act  of  com- 
pleting her  cocoon,  was  con- 
tent with  a  scantier  cover- 
ing than  this.     Her  egg  sac 
was  an  oval  mass  of  yellow- 
ish brown  silk  one  and  one- 
fourth  inch  long  by  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  wide.    It 
was  fastened  upon  a  twig  of 
a  pine  tree.     At  one  end  short  lines  were  thickly  strung  across  from  the 
needle    like    leaves,   making  a   sort  of   "  fly "   or   awning.      This 
was  repeated   at  the  other  end,   thus    about    half    covering  the 
cocoon.     The  mother  spider  hung  to  a  few  threads  above  (Fig. 
62)  her  egg  nest,  with  shrunken  abdomen,  and  so  much  exhausted  as  to 
be  little  inclined  to  move.     This  cocoon  was  made  September  24th. 

For  the  most  part  the  outer  tent  is  of  closer  texture  than  those  above 
described,  being  in  fact  an  enclosing  curtain  of  silken  cloth,  through  which 
the  outline  of    the  cocoon   within    may  be    traced.      (Fig.   63.) 
Great  numbers  of  these  tent  enclosed 
cocoons  may  be  seen  at  the  boat  houses 
near  the  Inlet  of  Atlantic  City  and  Cape  May. 
They  are  made  during  the   last  days   of   May 
and  to  the  middle  or  last  of  June,  and  again 
in  the  fall.  ^    The  cocoons  measure  seven-eighths 
of  an  inch  long  by  six-eighths  of  an  inch  wide, 
and  less.     The  enclosing  tent  measures 
r  oreorai-  ^^^  g^j^^j  ^^^  g^^^  ^  YiqH  inches  long  by 

one  and  three-eighths  inch  wide.    Fre- 
quently the  tents  are  overlaid   one  upon  another,  or  spun  close 
to   each  other,   as  at  Fig.   58.      I    have   found    three   large  cocoons  thus 


Fig.  63.    Epeira  cocoon  protected  by  a  tent  of  close  spinningrwork. 


Cocoons 
in  Tents. 


Sheeted 
Tent. 


nation  in 
Nature 


Fig.  64.  Egg  mass  of  Epeira,  show- 
ing the  under  sheet  and  the  mass 
of  flossy  padding. 


^  Of  two  sjiecimens  of  Epeira  sclopetaria  kept  by  me,  one  cocooned  May  22d ;  the  other 
May  26th ;  a  third  about  the  middle  of  June.  An  Epeira  domiciliorum  cocooned  Septem- 
ber IGth. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS.  89 

overlaid,  and  the  outer  tent,  four  inches  long,  covered  the  others  so  com- 
pletely that  one  might  have  supposed  the  whole  to  be  the  work  of  one 
spider.  Undoubtedly,  these  works  are  precau- 
tions against  both  enemies  and  the  weather, 
which,  although  without  experience  of  the  ef- 
fects of  either  upon  her  offspring,  the  mother 
takes  as  though  she  really  foresaw  the  danger,     pi^.  gs.  Egg  mass  of^eira,  showing 

If    an     egg    nest    of     this    class    be     opened         the   under   sheet  and  outer  covering 

rGiuovcd. 

there  will  be  found,  in  order,  first,  the  outer 

tent,    separate    from    the   covering   of    the   cocoon ;    second,    a   thin    white 
silken  sheet,  which  is  the  outer  envelope  of  the  cocoon  proper ; 
n  erior     ^j^ij-d,  the  thick  egg  pad  of  curled  silk,  usually  yellow ;  fourth, 
the   eggs,  a   conical  or  hemispherical  or  spherical  mass  of  small 
yellow  globules.     (Fig.  64.)    When  the   spider  oviposits  against  a  flat  sur- 
face, the   eggs   are  generally  laid   upon  a  coating   or   sheet  of   silk   spread 
upon  the  surface,  and  the  padding  is  then  woven  over  it  in 'the  manner 
of  Argiope  cophinaria.     If  the  cocoon  is  suspended  within  a  maze  of  lines, 
the  eggs  are  laid  in  the  midst  of  the  curled  nest  or  egg  pad,  which  is  after- 
wards completed. 

The  cocoon  of  Epeira  cinerea  shows  a  variation  from  the  common  type 
of  her  congeners.     The  egg  pad  is  a  large  flattened  hemisphere,  an  inch 

.......... ._^.... .,.........,.,  in  diameter,  and  one-fourth  to  three-eighths  of 

an  inch  thick.     This  is  spun  against  some  flat 
surface,  the  boards  of  a  shed,  as  I  have  seen  it, 
upon  a  light  cushion  of  curled  yellow  silk.    Over 
'"  -■■    -•  ^j^^  around  this,  on  all  sides,  is  woven  the  egg 

Fig.  66.    Cocoon  of  Epeira  cinerea.  ,  i   •    i      •       n    < ,  i      i  • .  ,  i 

pad,  which  is  flattened  down  quite  compactly, 
and  the  whole  mass  lashed  at  the  edges  to  the  surface.  The  entire 
cocoon  has  a  diameter  of  one  and  five-eighths  inch  or  more,  and  is  a 
quarter  or  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick  at  the  centre.     (Fig.  66.) 

III. 

Epeira  triaranea  makes  a  cocoon  of  the  common  type,  but  smaller.     Of 

two  now  before   me,  spun   in  bottles,  one   measures   one-fifth    of   an   inch, 

and  the  other  about  half  that.     They  are  both  round  or  ovoid 

,  .  flossy   masses,   protected   by   a    maze   of    intersecting    lines    spun 

triaranea.  j  >   ir  j  b  i 

around  them.  This  maze  is  often  thickened  into  a  tent,  in  which 
condition  I  have  observed  numbers  spun  in  the  angles  of  the  joists  of  a 
cellar  at  Atlantic  City,  in  the  early  spring  (May  22d),  full  of  young  spider- 
lings  just  ready  to  emerge.  These  cocoons  measured  one-half  inch  long, 
which  is  somewhat  above  the  normal  length.  * 

One  female  was  observed  (New  Lisbon,  Ohio),  whose  cocoon  was  wrapped 
up  within  a  rolled  leaf.     This  was  swung  to  a  cord,  attached  at  one  end 


90 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


to  the  silken,  bell  shaped  tent  within  which  the  spider  nested,  and  at  the 
other  end  to  the  fence  top  against  which  the  tent  was  placed.  (Fig.  67.) 
In  this  way  the  mother  had  her  future  progeny  literally  "cradled,"  and  in 
good  position  also  to  be  freely  "  rocked."  What  freak  had  caused  her  to 
make  this  divergence  we  can  only  conjecture;  probably  the  cocoon  had 
first  been  spun  upon  the  leaf,  which,  becoming  loose,  and  threatening  to 
fall,  was  secured  in  the  manner  described. 

A  familiar  resort  of  Triaranea  in  New  England  is  the  stone  wall,  char- 
acteristic of   that  section.     Underneath  the   irregular  slabs   or  boulders   of 
granite  which  are  heaped,  one  upon  the  other,  to  form  the  divi- 
sion  fences  between  meadows,  etc.,  I  have  found  large  numbers 
of  this  species.     The  orb,  which   is  usually  about  six   inches  in 
diameter,   is  woven   within  the  interspaces  of  the  rocks,  and  the 
spider  has  her  resting  place  against  the  rough  surface,  or  within  the  little  in- 
dentations of  the  stone  which 


Stone 
Fence 
Colony 


forms  the  top  of  the  cavity. 
Against  this  surface  the  moth- 
er Triaranea  weaves  her  bowl 
shaped  tent,  and  against  the 
same  surface,  an  inch  or  two 
away,  she  spins  her  cocoon. 
This  is  about  a  quarter  or 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter;  is  a  hemispherical 
disk  of  flossy  white  silk,  which 
is  overspun  by  a  stiff,  taut, 
close,  but  transparent  tent  of 
white  silk  about  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  long.  This  may 
be  considered  the  typical  co- 
coon of  the  species. 

The  number  of  eggs  in 
three  cocoons  counted  was, 
respectively,  forty-five,  forty- 
two,  and  thirty-two.  They 
were  of  a  gray  color.  Little  spiders  had  just  developed  in  one,  and  these 
had  yellowish  abdoitiens,  round,  and  very  slightly  oval,  with  the  legs  white. 
The  egg  skin  had  just  been  cast,  and  the  little  fellows  were  stretching  them- 
selves and  straggling  about  in  a  feeble  manner. 

One  female  was  resting  within  a  circular  depression  underneath  a  rock, 
and  had  spun  a  few  silken  lines,  forming  the  foundations  of  a  little  circular 
tent,  the  framework  of  which  extended  downward  toward  her  snare.  Within 
this  was  an  old  empty  cocoon,  against  which  the  spider  rested.  Near  by 
was  a  fresh   cocoon,   nearly   one-fourth   inch   in   diameter,  overspun  by  a 


Leaf  enclosed  cocoon  of  Epeira  triaranea,  swung 
to  her  silken  nest  and  above  her  snare. 


MATERNAL  INDUSTRY:    COCOONS  OP  ORBWEAVERS. 


91 


Fig.  68.    Cocoon  of  Epeira  thaddeus,  swung  upon  a  line. 


tough  silken  tent,  and  this  appeared  to  belong  to  the  spider,  who,  moreover, 

looked  as  though  she  might  soon  make  another  cocoon.     The  question  was 

started,  but  was  not  solved,  does  Triaranea  weave  more  than  one  cocoon? 

The  cocoon  was  a  little  flossy 

ball,  flattened,  of  course,  on 

the  side  attached  to  the  rock, 

I   captured   one  of    the  fe^ 

males,  which  cocooned  in  a 

box,  thus  showing  that  the 

cocoons  above  described  were 

those  of  this  species. 

A  cocoon  of  Epeira  thad- 
deus was  sent  to  me  from 
Vineland,  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Treat.     It  had  been  spun  upon  some  potted  ferns  within  her  lodgings.     It . 

is  a  subglobose  sac,  of  a  delicate   pearl  gray   color,   one-fourth 
Epeira       .^^j^   /  -^  millimetres)  in  diameter.     It  is  attached  at  the  top  to 

"t'nfliOfi  Alls 

"  a  strip  of  silk  ribbon,  or  rather  it  widens  out  at  the  top  into 
two  triangular  points,  by  which  it  is  fastened  upon  a  cord  stretched  between 
two  sprigs  of  fern.     The  egg  ball  thus  swings  free.     (Fig.  68.) 

I  have  secured  cocoons  of  this  species,  by  confinement  within  the  trying 
box,  which  differ  from  the  above.  They  are  globular  or  subglobular  masses 
of  flossy  yellow  silk,  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  I  believe 
that,  ordinarily,  Thaddeus  will  be  found  to  weave  a  cocoon  of  this  sort  upon 
a  leaf  or  other  surface,  probably  enclosing  it-  within  a  curled  leaf,  or  over- 
spinning  it  in  the  manner  of  Epeira  triaranea. 

I  have  not  been  fortunate  enough  to  identify  the  cocoons  of  our  common 
Zillas;   but  a  species  w^hich  I  observed  in  Florida  made  a  cocoon  shown 

at  Fig.  69,  top  of  the  cut.  It  was  a  flossy 
ball,  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick, 
and  was  woven  within  the  silken  tent 
which  formed  the  spider's  domicile.  It 
was  placed  in  the  top  of  the  tent,  and 
against  the  twigs,  which  formed  a  sort 
of  framework  for  it.  After  the  cocoon, 
had  been  made  the  spider  shifted  her 
domicile  to  a  lower  point,  and  gradually 
spun  a  new  dome  shaped  tent  just  b.e- 
neath  her  cocoon,  within  which  she  co  n- 
tinued  to  dwell. 

The  cocoon  of  Nephila  wilderi,  accord- 
ing to  Professor  Burt  Wilder,  ^  is  a  large  flossy  hemisphere  of  silk,  whioh  is 
usually  spun  upwards  against  a  leaf  or  similar  surface.     The  spinning;- work 


Fig.  69.    Cocoon  (top  of  figure)  and  tent 
of  a  Florida  Zilla. 


^  Trans.  Am.  Assoc.  Advanc.  Sci.,  1873,  page  263. 


92 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  71. 


Fig.  70.    Cocoon  of  Nephila  wilderi,  woven  against  a  leaf.    (After  Wilder.) 
Fig.  71.    Cocoons  of  West  Indies  Nephilas  spun  on  plants.    (After  Wood.) 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY  :    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


93 


is  of  a  yellow  color,  and  so  slight  as  to  show  the  loose  mass  of  eggs  within. 

(Fig.  70.)     It  appears  to  resemble  quite  exactly  the  cocoon  of  its  congeners 
in   Africa  and   the  West   India   Islands, 
ep  1  a     Yqy  example,  the  cocoon  of  Nephila  ni- 
gra, according  to   Dr.  Vinson,^    is   of  a 

beautiful  yellow  color,  and  is  attached  to  the  bark 

of  trees,  or  spun  against  the  surface  of  some  re- 
cess.    Nephila  maurata  spins  a  large  cocoon,  of  a 

beautiful  orange  yellow  color.    This  is  not  attached 

to  her   snare,  but  is  woven   against  any  adjacent 

recess,  or  in   some   shaded   place  near  to  her,  al- 
though sometimes  she  goes  quite  a  distance  from 

her   web    to    find   a   cocooning    site.      The   orange 

colored   egg  sac   is   enclosed   in   a   flossy   envelope 

of  a  paler  color.  ^ 

If  we  may  credit  the  statement,  or  rather  the 

illustration   of  Mr.   Wood,    the    Nephilas    of    the 

West  Indies,  which  are  there  known  as  the  Tufted 

spider,  spin  a  cocoon  similar  to  that  described,  but 

suspended  to  the  stalks  of  various  plants,  instead 

of  being  hung  beneath   leaves  or   woven   against 

hard    surfaces.^      The    figure    presented    by    Mr. 

Wood,  and  which  is  here  reproduced,   is  said  by 

the   author   to   be   made  from    specimens    in   the 

British  Museum,  although  I  do  not  remember  to 

have  seen  these  when   examining  the  collections  of  spinningwork  at  Ken- 
sington several  years  ago. 

IV. 

I  have  several  cocoons  of  our  American  Gasteracantha,  two  of  which 
were  sent  from  Southern  California  by  Mrs.  Eigenmann.  A  third  was 
woven  by  a  living  female  sent  from  the  same  section ;  and  a 
fourth  was  received  from  Dr.  George  Marx,  of  Washington.  The 
latter  is  attached  to  the  bark  of  a  twig,  upon  which  it  is  spun. 
It  is  a  flossy  button  or  wad  of  a  bright  yellow  color.  The  outer  strands 
of  the  spinningwork  have  a  glossy  appearance.  It  is  about  three-fourths 
inch  long  and  one-half  inch  wide.  (Fig.  72,  and  Plate  IV.,  Vol.  II.)  The 
California  examples  are  smaller  but  similar. 

These  cocoons  are,  in  structure,  like  those  of  their  African  congeners 
as  described  by  M.  Vinson.'*  This  author  describes  a  cocoon  of  Gastera- 
cantha bourbonica  as  an  ovoid,  round  and  flattened,  woolly  wad  of  a  yellow 

^  Araneides  des  Madagascar,  etc.,  page  191.  ^  Idem,  page  186. 

*  "Homes  Without  Hands,"  page  584. 

*  Araneides  Reunion,  Maurice,  et  Madagascar,  page  2S8. 


Fig.  72.  Cocoon  of  a  California 
Gasteracantha,  woven  upon 
curled   leaves. 


Gastera 
cantha. 


94 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  73.    Cocoon  of  Meta  menardi.  (About  one- 
third  larger  than  natural  size. 


and  green  color.     The  case  which  envelops  it  is  twenty  millimetres  long, 
and  the  central  egg  mass  measures  four-fifths  of  an  inch  (ten  millimetres) 

in  width.  The  centre,  which  contains 
the  eggs,  is  white,  but  grows  brown  from 
the  moment  of  enclosure. 

The  cocoon  of  Meta  menardi,  as  I 
have  found  it,  is  a  somewhat  oblong 
roll  of  brownish  silk,  not  very  com- 
pact in  texture,  but  sufficiently  open  to 
allow  one  to  see  the  eggs  enclosed  with- 
in. It  is  deposited  near  the  snare  of 
the  female,  and  simply  attached  to  some 
surface  by  a  rather  sparing  system  of 
supporting  lines.  ^  According  to  Blackwall,  the  species  (Epeira  fusca)  as 
observed  by  him  in  North  Wales  makes  a  cocoon  somewhat  different 
from  this.  In  autumn  the  female  fabricates  a  large  oviform 
®  ,.  cocoon  of  white  silk,  of  so  delicate  a  texture  that  the  eggs, 
connected  together  by  silken  lines  in  a  globular  mass  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  in  diameter,  may  be  seen  distinctly  within  it.  Its  transverse 
axis  measures  about  eleven-tenths  of  an  inch,  and  its  conjugate  axis 
eight-tenths.  It  is  attached  by  numerous  lines,  generally  forming  a  short 
pedicle  on  one  extremity  to  the  walls  or  roofs  of  the  places  it  inhabits. 
(See  Fig.  74.)  The  eggs,  which  are  yellow  and  spherical,  are  between  four 
and  five  hundred  in  number.  ^  The  general  characteristics  of  the  cocoon 
as  thus  described  by  Blackwall  correspond  with  those  of 
the  American  species,  except  in  the  habit  of  suspending 
the  cocoon  by  a  short  pedicle.  However,  a  wider  obser- 
vation of  the  American  species  might  show  even  closer  re- 
semblance in  cocooning  habit.  One  or  two  of  my  specimens 
have  a  little  tuft  at  one  pole,  as  though  a  slight  stalk  or 
attachment  had  been  there  made. 

The  cocoon  of  Tetragnatha  extensa  is  a  pretty  object. 
I  have  never  seen  the  mother  weaving  it,  nor  have  I  ob- 
tained it  by  confining  the  female  within  my  trying  boxes. 
But  I  have  found  it  in  the  fields,  where  one  may  identify 

it  by  its  resemblance  to  that  spun  by  European    fig.  7T~^cocoon 
Tetrag-      individuals  of  the  species ;   and,  moreover,  I  have     ^^  ^"^""^  ^^*f 

nathSi'S  r  7  ^  ■>  menardi  or  Epei- 

Cocoon     hatched  the  young,  and  thus  demonstrated  the  true     ra  fusca.    (After 

cocoon.     It  is  an   ovoid   object,  about  quarter   of     ^i^'^^^") 
an  inch  long  and  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  wide  and  thick,  and  is  com- 
monly woven  against  a  leaf,  or  twig,  or  bit  of  bark,  or  other  convenient 


^  Mr.  Isaac  Banks  has  also  found  it  thus  placed  in  Central  New  York. 
2  Blackwall,  "  Spiders  of  Great  Britain,"  page  350 ;  and  pi.  26,  Fig.  252,  g. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY  :    COCOONa  OP   ORBWEAVERS.  95 


object.  (Figs.  75,  76.)  I  have  found  what  I  suppose  to  be  this  cocoon, 
suspended  by  four  diverging  lines  within  an  open  space,  as,  for  example, 
in  the  post  hole  of  fences,  as  shown  at  Fig.  77.  The  cocoon  varies  some- 
what in  color,  being  usually  of  a  cream  white  tinted  with  green.  The  silk 
looks  almost  like  wool.  The  exterior  is  covered  with  little  points  or  minute 
projecting  rolls,  in  this  respect  somewhat  approximating  the  cocoon  of 
Uloborus.  Within  this  exterior  case  are  found  the  eggs,  which  are  over- 
spun  by  a  slight  flossy  covering. 

The  English  species  forms  its  cocoon  in  June.     It  is  described  as  round- 
ish, less  than  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter,   fine  and   slightly  woven;    and 

is  either  whitish  with  greenish  tufts,  or  greenish  with  whitish 
The  Bu-  tufts  upon  its  surface.  The  cocoon  is  fixed  to  some  object  near 
^^®.  the  web,  and  contains  pale  yellow  eggs.^     This  corresponds  sub- 

stantially  with  the  account  of  Walckenaer,  who  describes  the 
threads  of  the  interior  as  of  a  bluish  green  color,  but  the  exterior  as  a 
little  browner  in  hue,  and  presenting  inequalities  as  of  little  globules  pro- 
duced by  the  eggs.^  Lister  also  describes  the  cocoon,  which  he  frequently 
found  attached  to  the  joints  of  twigs  and  to  the  leaves  of  plants.  Thus 
it  was  nearly  or  quite  the  first  example  of  spider  cocooning  to  attract  the 
notice  of  naturalists. 

V. 

Most  Orbweavers  habitually  make  but  one  cocoon.  There  are  some  ex- 
ceptions, however,  among  them  two  species  very  common  in  the  United 
States,  viz.,  the  Labyrinth  spider  and  the  Tailed  spider,  which 
Spiders  distribute  their  eggs  in  several  cocoons,  as  does  also  Epeira  bi- 
Y^  ,  furca  of  Florida.  A  rarer  species  having  the  same  habit  is  the 
Cocoons.  Basilica  spider ;  Uloborus  plumipes  and  Cyrtarachne  complete  the 
list  of  Orbweavers  known  to  me  to  habitually  construct  a  string 
or  cluster  of  egg  sacs.  These  species  represent  groups  having  well  defined 
differences  in  structure  and  decided  differences  in  the  characteristics  of 
their  snares. 

The  genus  Cyrtarachne  is  remarkable  by  the  peculiar  form  of  the  body, 

and  is  distributed  quite  extensively  throughout  the  United  States.     There 

are  probably  two  species,  the  Bisaccata  of   Emerton  and   Corni- 

Cyrta-  ^.q^^  q£  jjentz.  The  cocoon  made  by  the  two  species  is  similar 
rachne  .  . 

,  .  A    in  general  form,  but  there  appears  to  be  a  marked  difference  in 

bisaccata.       °  ^^ 

the  mode  of  attachment.      Moreover,  Cornigera  apparently  spins 

but  one  cocoon,  while  Bisaccata,  as  its  name  implies,  spins  at  least  two ; 

and   I  have  had   cocoon  strings  sent  me  from  California  by  Mrs.  Eigen- 

mann  containing  three.     Thus  Emerton's   specific  name  appears  to   be   a 

misnomer.     I  have  a  number  of   specimens;   one  collected   by  Dr.   Marx 

1  Staveley,  "  British  Spiders,"  page  268.  ^  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  page  207. 


96 


AMERICAN   SPIDEJIS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  75. 


Pig.  76. 


-nrmilV^'^ 


Fig.  77. 

Cocoons  of  Tetragnatha  extensa:   Fic.  75,  spun  upon  a  leaf,  X  3;   Fig.  76,  woven  against  a  twig,  X  3; 

Fig.  77,  suspended  within  a  fence  post  hole,  the  last  about  natural  size. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY  :    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


97 


Distribu 
tion. 


at  Washington,   D.   C,  a  single   cocoon ;    another   containing  two   cocoons, 

sent  to  Dr.  Marx  from  Fort  Yukon,  Alaska.     Still  others  were  forwarded 
to   me   from   various    parts   of    the    country. 
The   range   of   the   species   is,  therefore,  evi- 
dently from  the  southern  extremity  of  Cali- 
fornia to  the  Alaskan  peninsula   on  the  west,   and   in 

the  east  along  the  New  England  coast,  and  as  far  south 

at  least  as  Washington. 

Several  of  my  specimens  are  fastened  to  the  twigs 

upon  which  they  were  woven,  and  give  a  correct  idea 

of  the  ordinary  manner  of  attachment.     The  cocoons 

are  about  three-eighths   of  an   inch  in  length,  with  a 

foot  stalk   of  varying  length,  which  gradually  ends   in 

a  fine  thread   stretched   upward   along  the  twig.     One 

example,   containing  two   cocoons,   is  lashed   against   a 

twig  by  an  overlying  cord  of  yellowish  silk  five  inches 

long.      The   cocoons   are   composed    of  dark   brown   or 

bluish  silk,  with  overspread   tufts  or  patches  of  white. 

They  are  separated  by  a  space  of  nearly  half  an  inch, 

and  the  foot  stalk  of  the  lower  cocoon  is  united  to  the 

bottom   of    the    upper   one   by   a  thick,   stiff,   blackish 

cord. 

The  lower  portion  of  the  ball  of  the  egg  sac  has  a    fig.  78.  cocoons  of  cyrta- 

scalloped  fringe  with  blunt  points  or  processes,  which,      ra^hne  suspended  against 

^  ^  ^  ^  _  '  '         a  twig.    Natural  size. 

as  far  as  my  specimens  show,  have  nothing 
ca  ope    ^^   ^^  with  the  manner   of   suspension.     Nevertheless,  they  may 
serve  some  useful  purpose  in  anchoring  the  egg  sac  to  the  twig. 
This   description  will   fairly   represent   the   form   and   mode   of  suspension 
of  all  my  specimens. 

Emerton  found  his  specimens  at  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  on  a  beech 
tree.  They  were  dark  brown,  as  dark  as  the  bark  of  the  tree,  and  as 
hard.  Around  the  middle  of  each  was  a  circle  of  irregular 
points.  One  of  his  cocoons  was  attached  by  a  string  to  the 
bark,  and  the  other  was  attached  in  the  same  way  to  the 
first  cocoon.  The  spider  held  on  to  one  of  the  cocoons, 
which,  therefore,  had  probably  been  recently  spun.  We  may 
safely  conjecture  the  date  of  this  observation,  October  22d, 
Fig,  79.  A  single    ^q  ]^q  ^j^q   cocoouiug   period   of    this   species.      The  following 

cocoonofCyr-  .  ^i^  -     %  ■  r  p  j  i 

tarachne    bi-    Spring  another  Similar  pair  oi   cocoons  was  found  on  a  low 

ter^Emerton*)    ^^^    ^^^®    ^^   ^^^   samc   vicinity,   still    firmly   attached    to   the 

bark.     From  these  the  young  came  out  in  June. 

In  my  specimens  there  is  much  difference  as  to  the  regularity  of  the 

little  exterior  processes  or  points  alluded  to.     In  some  specimens  they  are 

quite    regularly  formed,   and    make    a    very  pretty   ornament    upon    the 


98 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  80.    Cocoon  string  of  a  California  Cyrtarachne,  seen  from  two 
sides.    Natural  size. 


cocoon.     In  others  they  are  quite  irregular,  not  only  in  their  shape,  but 

in  the  mode  of  arrangement,  being  little  more  than  irregular  nodules  upon 

the  surface.  One  of  the 
specimens  from  California 
consists  of  three  cocoons,  the 
first  of  which  has  the  points 
arranged  with  considerable 
regularity,  while  the  others 
are  less  in  size  and  are  al- 
most without  rugosities.  All 
have  little  openings  towards 
the  top,  through  which,  no 
doubt,  the  spiderlings  made 

their  escape.     (See  Fig.  80,  which  shows  the  cocoons  natural  size.) 

Cyrtarachne  cornigera   is   quite  as   remarkable   in   the   character   of   its 

cocoon  as  in  its  own  structure.     This  cocoon  is  a  flask  shaped  object,  re- 
sembling that  of  Argiope   riparia,   but   with   a    neck    relatively 

Cyrtar-      much   longer.      Two    examples   before   me  difPer  greatly  in   size, 

^  one  being  more  than  one- 

Cocoons.  ° 

third  larger  than  the 
other.  1  In  the  former  the  stalk 
or  neck  is  of  uniform  thickness; 
in  the  latter  it  is  twice  as  thick 
at  the  mouth  as  at  the  bowl.  (Fig. 
81.)  The  cocoon  is  lashed  at  the 
base  of  the  bowl  to  a  twig  by  a 
number  of  silken  threads,  which 
are  attached  to  one  side,  carried 
quite  around  the  twig,  and  simi- 
larly fastened  to  the  opposite  side. 
The  entire  lower  half  of  the  bowl 
is  thus  covered  by  the  attached 
wrappings,  which  are  drawn  so 
tightly  that  the  flask  sits  quite 
firmly  upon  the  twig.  At  the  op- 
posite end  the  cocoon  is  stayed  by 
lines  that  pass  from  the  tip  of  the 
stalk  to  the  snare  of  the  spider  or 
other  support.  The  attachments  of 
these  guys  are  shown  in  Fig.  81,  which  is  drawn  twice  natural  size. 

In  the  Camden  cocoon  (Fig.  82,   natural  size),   the  lashings  are  of  a 

^  No.  1,  collected  by  Mr.  Isaac  Martindale,  Camden,  N.  J. ;  length,  19  mm. ;  bowd,  10  mm.  long, 
9  mm.  wide ;  stalk,  9  mm.  long,  3  mm.  wide.  No.  2,  collected  by  Dr.  George  Marx,  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  lengtli,  12  mm. ;  bowl,  6  mm.  long,  5  mm.  wide  ;  stalk,  0  mm.  long,  li  to  3  mm.  wide. 


Fi(i.  81.    Cocoon  of  Cyrtarachne  cornigera,  lashed  to 
a  twig.     X  2. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


99 


yellow,  glossy  silk,  and  so  abundant  as  to  make  quite  a  ribbon.     Here  the 

threads  are  carried  around  both  sides  of  a  projecting  twig,  as  though  the 

spider  mother  had  purposely  availed  herself  of  this  mechanical  advantage, 

and  are  additionally  strengthened  by  being  crossed  or  twisted  as  they  pass 

around  the  branch  to  which  the  cocoon 

is   attached.     The   outer   envelope   is   in 

color  a  very  dark  yellowish  brown,  and 

is  of  extraordinary  stiffness.     When  cut 

open    the    bowl    is   found    to   contain   a 

ball  of  white  silken  floss,  within  which  .-^^  ^^W. 

the    eggs    are    deposited.      This    ball    is  „ 

"^^  ^  .  Fig.  82.  Fig.  83. 

fastened    to    a    very     tough     twisted     cord,    fig.  82.   cocoon  ofCyrtarachnecomigera  (natural 

that  passes  up  through  the  neck  (Fig.  S  o?  same."''""  ^  *"'^'  ^'"■'''  "'*'"°'' 
83),  and  which  is  the  line  by  which  the 

egg  ball  was  suspended  before  the  outer  flask  was  spun  around  it.  The 
texture  of  the  external  shell  has  every  appearance,  under  the  lens,  of 
having  been  hardened  by  means  of  a  viscid  secretion  applied  to  it  by  the 
spider;   the  toughness  is  evidently  not  the  result  of  simple  weaving. 

Another  example  of  Cornigera's  cocoon  is  drawn  at  Fig.  84.  The 
manner  in  which  the  bowl  of  the  vase  shaped  object  is  seated  upon  the 
twig  and  lashed  by  a  ribbon  is  there  well  shown.  The  top  of  the  stalk 
is  stayed  by  various  lines  wrapped  about  a  neighboring  twig. 

Epeira  labyrinthea  belongs  to  the  small  group  of  Orbweavers  that  spin 
compound   snares ;    that  is,  snares   in  which  the  orb   is   associated   with    a 
well  developed  retitelarian  snare.  ^     The  labyrinth  of  crossed  lines 
Laby-        jg  placed  behind  and  above  the  orb,  and  within  this  the  spider 
o   . ,  has  her  dwelling,  commonly  beneath  a  dry  leaf ;   here  also  she 

suspends  her  string  of  cocoons,  placing  them  near  her  tent,  and 
usually  above  it  and  to  one  side,  as  represented  in  Fig.  85. 

It  consists  of  several,  usually 
five,  lenticular  or  semiglobular 
vessels,  of  a  yellowish,  tough 
texture,  about  one-fourth  inch 
long  and  one-sixth  wide.  These 
may  be  properly  described  as 
woven  dishes  with  covers.  Each 
cocoon  consists  of  two  disks 
joined,  together  at  the  edges 
tightly  enough  to  cause  them  to 
adhere  until  the  parts  are  grad- 
ually loosened  before  the  strain  of  the  growing  spiderlings,  and  finally 
open  up  and  permit  the  inmates  to  escape. 


Fig.  84.    Cocoon  of  Cyrtarachne  cornigera,  with  ribbon 
lasliing  and  stay  lines. 


1  See  Vol.  I.,  page  131,  and  Fig.  115. 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


v'^Ol 


iPStis 


iS"'' 

1  ;.,,1 

^p^ 

i;|H^ 

ra 

^ 

H 

^K 

These  disks,  on 
examination,      pre- 
sent   very    uniformly 
the    appearance    shown     ^,^^^ 
at  Fig.  88,  a,  b.     The    &^Jl 
lower  part  or  the  cup,    \ 

a,  is  an  oval  dish  twice 
as  long  at  the  top  as  at  the 
bottom,  reminding  one  of 
the  form  of  a  portable  bath 
tub  much  in  vogue.  The 
upper  disk,  the  cover  or  cap, 

b,  is  in  shape  a  miniature 
soft  slouch   hat  with 

\    a  rounded  crown  and 
turned  up  rim.     The 
rim    of    the    cap    fits 
upon   a    minute    cor- 
responding lip  of  the   cup. 
When  the  eggs  are  first  laid 
the  cocoon  has  a  somewhat 
flattened  appearance,  which 


Fig.  85.    The  Labyrinth  spider's  cocoon  string,  suspended  within  the  maze  above 
her  leaf  roofed  tent. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


101 


in  many  cases  (not  all)  becomes  much  rounded  as  the  spiders  grow.  If 
the  cap  be  lifted  up  or  pulled  ofP,  as  may  readily  be  done  when  the 
young  are  nearly  ready  to  emerge,  a 
ball  of  yellow  silk  will  be  found  inside, 
amidst  which  the  eggs  are  originally 
deposited,  and  in  whose  fibres  the  spi- 
derlings  burrow.  The  cocoons  are  in 
number  about  five,  more  or  less,  and 
each  one  contains  about  twelve  to  twen- 
ty eggs,  so  that  the  aggregate  number 
of  eggs  is  about  equal  to  that  found 
in  the  single  cocoons  of  some  other 
species. 

For  the  most  part  the  cocoons  over- 
lay one  another,  the  top  of  each  projecting  one- 
third  to  one-half  its  length  over  its  neighbor,  as 
shown  at  Fig.  89,  i,  front  view ;  ii,  back  view. 
They  are  held  together  chiefly  by  a  band  of  loose 
threads  (o,  ii)  which  are  stretched  along  the  back 
parts  of  the  cups,  although  at  the  points  where  the 

The 


Fig.  88.  The 
dish,  a,  and 
cover,  b,  of 
a  Labyrinth 
spider's  co- 
coon. 


Fig.  87. 


Cocoon  strings  of  Labyrinth    cocoous  ovcrlap  they  are  also  lightly  attached. 

spider.    (Natural  size.)    Fig.     ,  t  i   •    i       ,i  ,i  i 

86.  The  manner  of  lashing    band    upou   which   the   cocoous    are   thus   struug   IS 
above.    Fig.  87.    The  tiled    fastened   to   a   stroug,   thick,  branching  white  cord, 

position  of  the  cocoons.  ,.,.  ,  ,,  iii 

which  IS  anchored  above  and  below 
to  the  network  of  cross  lines.  This  cord  is  usually  longest 
above,  deltated  and  often  suspended  upon  a  similar  trans- 
verse cord.  (See  Figs,  85,  86.)  When  the  cocoons  are 
opened  in  October,  the  spiderlings  are  found  fully  de- 
veloped, lively,  and  ready  to  escape.  They  resemble  the 
adult  form  in  markings. 

The  cocoons  are  sometimes  separated  from  each  other, 
as  at  Fig.  86,  but  again  are  all  overlaid.  Fig.  87,  being 
lashed  together  by  the  band  of  threads  upon  which  they 
are  strung.  Occasionally,  the  spider  will  spin  her  tent 
beneath  the  lowest  cocoon  of  the  series,  instead  of  the 
usual  leaf  or  other  debris,  and  will  be  found  backed  up 
against  the  same,  holding  to  the  trapline  of  her  snare. 
(Fig.  90.)  The  full  page  cut  (Fig.  85)  shows  Labyrin- 
thea's  cocoons  strung  in  natural  site,  above  and  behind 
the  leaf-roofed  tent. 

The  mother  begins  to   spin   her  cocoons   in  August, 
adding  one   every  week,  or  thereabouts,  until   the  tale  is  complete.     The 
suspensory  cords  that  support  the  cocoon  string  are  strong,  thick,  and  of  a 
pure  white  color.     I  have  found  numbers  of  the  empty  cocoon  shells  in 


Fig.  89.  Two  overlaid 
cocoons  of  Labyrin- 
thea,  showing  the 
cord  i,  and  ii,  o,  x, 
upon  which  they  are 
strung.  (Natural  size) 


102 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the   early   spring,  hanging   intact  upon   the   bushes   where   they  had   been 
placed,  although,  of  course,  the  snare  had  entirely  disappeared. 

The   Tailed   spider,    Cyclosa   caudata,  differs   from   Labyrinth  ea   in   the 
mode  of   hanging  her  string  of  egg  sacs.      This   is   suspended  within   the 
limits  of  her  orb,  above  the  central  space,  along  the  line  of  the 
C-yc  osa     p(3i.pendicular.     As  the  cocoons  increase  in  number,  the  adjacent 
radii  and  the  connecting  spirals  are  cut  out,  leaving  a  clear  seg- 
ment resembling  that  in  the  snare  of   Zilla,  in  the  middle  of  which  the 
cocoon  string  hangs.     (Fig.  92.)     The  number  of  cocoons 
appears  to  vary  much  ;  I  have  usually  found  from  three 
to  five ;   Hentz  never  observed  more  than  five.  ^     They 
are  generally  in  shape  a  double  cone,  although  often 
round   or   roundish,  and   are  from   three-sixteenths 
to  quarter  of  an  inch  (five  to  seven   millimetres) 
long    and    one-eighth   inch    (three    millimetres) 
wide.     A  cocoon  is  not  composed  of  two  dis- 
tinct  parts,  like  one  of   Labyrinthea's,  but 
is  spun  in  a  single   piece  of  soft  yellow- 
ish  floss,  externally  close  enough  to  be 
weatherproof,    but    which    ravels    out 
into    woolly    threads    when    picked 
with  a  needle. 

Within,  the  sac  is  filled  abun- 
dantly with  delicate,  flossy,  yellow 
silk,  in  which  the  eggs  are  de- 
posited. These  vary  in  number ; 
for  example,  three  now  before  me, 
opened  in  succession,  contain,  re- 
spectively, twenty-two,  two,  and 
ten ;  certainly  a  remarkable  differ- 
ence. On  one  occasion  a  female 
enclosed  within  a  paper  box  began 
to  make  a  cocoon,  but  proceeded 
no  further  than  to  weave  a  tiny 
saucer,  similar  to  that  spun  by  Ar- 
giope  riparia.  This  would,  there- 
fore, appear  to  be  the  commencement  of  her  cocoon,  and  it  may  be  that 
against  such  a  disk  Caudata  habitually  deposits  her  eggs  before  enclosing 
them.  However,  I  have  not  found  this  within  her  cocoons,  as  is  the  case 
with  Argiope's,  and  conclude  that  the  disk  is  made  the  basis  of  the  external 
sac,  into  which  it  is  woven  as  the  spider  proceeds.  The  cocoons  are  often 
well  separated  upon  the  string,  but  also  are  found  touching  and  even  over- 


FiG.  90.    Labyrinthea's  snare,  viewed  from  behind,  with 
two  cocoons  in  site  above  the  tubular  nest. 


^  "  Spiders  United  States,"  page  127. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


103 


lapping  one  another  like  tiles.  Sometimes  nodules  of  flossy  silk,  or  of  silk 
mixed  with  the  debris  of  captured  and  devoured  insects,  are  irregularly 
interposed  between  the  cocoons.  This  is,  indeed,  a  fixed 
and  most  interesting  habit  of  the  species,  which  will  be 
described  in  a  succeeding  chapter. 

During  a  temporary  stay  in  Florida,  April,  1886,  I 
found  nested  upon  the  porch  of  Dr.  Wittfeld's  place, 
Fairyland,  Merrit's  Island,  on  the  Indian  River  a  little 
way  below  Rock  ledge,  a  new  spider,  which  I  named  Cyr- 
tophora  bifurca.  Its  snare  resembles  that  of  Cyclosa 
caudata.  It  also  resembles  that  spider  in  the  manner  of 
hanging  its  cocoon  string  in  the  vertical  axis  of  its  orb 
just  above  the  hub.  The  character  of  the  cocoon,  how- 
ever, differs  entirely  from  that  of  Caudata.  It  is,  in 
shape,  a  somewhat  irregular  octagon,  and  is  of  a  dark 
green  color.  I  have  found  as  many  as  fourteen  cocoons 
in  one  string,  overlapping  one  another  in  the  manner  of 
cocoons  of  the  Labyrinth  spider,  and  which  may  also  be 
seen  at  times  with  the  cocoons  of  Caudata,  although  for 

the  most  part,  the  latter  are  arranged  at  intervals 
along  the  string.     (See  Figs.  96,  97.) 

The  cocoon  strings  collected  varied  in  the 
number  of  cocoons  attached  thereto,  probably  ac- 
cording to  the  period  of  advancement  in  the  proc- 
ess of  ovipositing,  on  the  part  of  the  mother. 
Of  the  specimens  collected  one  string  contained 
fourteen,  another  twelve,  and  another  ten  cocoons. 
They  are  bound  together,  along  one  side,  by  con- 
tinuous series  of  thick  white  threads,  which  ex- 
tend from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  string. 
Each  cocoon  consists  of  two  parts,  which  liave 
evidently  been  fastened  together  by  a  selvage. 
These  parts  present  the  appearance  of  two  dishes 
placed  together  edge  to  edge.  They  are  woven 
of  a  soft,  but  rather  tough,  texture.  A  very  slight 
tuft  of  flossy  white  silk  is  found  inside,  and  with- 
in this  the  eggs  are  deposited.     In  one  cocoon  of 


Fig.  92.  Section  of  Cau- 
data's  snare,  showing 
manner  of  suspend- 
ing cocoons.  (Nat- 
ural size.) 


Fig.  93. 


Fig.  95. 


Fig.  96. 


Fig.  93.  Cocoon  string  of  Caudata,  .^  string  of  thirteen,  twenty-fivc  miuutc  dead  spi- 

with  silk  nodules  interposed.   (Nat-  ii-iin  ii- 

uralsize.)    Fig. 94 (upper).  Cocoons,    dcrs    WCrC    COUntcd,    wllicll    had    paSSCd    their    first 

(Natural  size.)  FIGX95  (lower)   En-  jj^Quit.     lu  auothcr  cocoou,  taken  froiu  a  string 

larged.      Fic;.  96.    Cocoon  string  of  '  ^ 

Epeira  bifurca,  showing  shape  and    of    fivC    Only,    there    WCrC    twCllty-six.  -    TllC    num- 
superposition.    (Natural  size.)  ^^^    ^^^^^^    ^   ^^^^    ^^^^^  hoWCVCr.       The   COCOOuiug 

period  appears  to  extend   into   May;    at  least  I  have   received   from   Miss 
Anna  Wittfeld,  as   late   as   the   middle   of  June,  a   string,  in   which   were 


104 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fio.  97.    Snare  and  cocoon  string  of  Epeira  bifurca,  to  show  the 
manner  of  suspension.' 


The  shape  of  the  cocoons  is  not  well  represented  in  the  cut.    (See  Fig.  96.) 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS.  105 


some  cocoons  empty,  one  with  spiderlings  passed  the  first  moult  several 
days,  and  another  with  young  who  had  just  broken  the  egg.  There  was 
no  trace  of  the  bifurcated  abdomen  upon  these  younglings.  The  spider 
is  of  a  uniform  light  green  color,  about  the  shade  of  its  cocoon. 

Another   Orbweaver   that  makes   several  cocoons   is   Epeira   basilica.     I 
am  indebted  to  Dr.  George  Marx,  of  Washington,  for  the  specimens  from 
which  the  following  studies  and  drawings  have  been  made,  as 
Cocoon  of  .^gjj  g^g  fQj.  ^Yie  information  concerning  Basilica's  habit  of  caring 
Q  . ,  for  her  eggs.     The  number  of  cocoons  is  five,  thus  corresponding 

with  that  of  Labyrinthea,  and  generally  with  Caudata.  They 
are  round,  covered  on  the  outside  with  gray  spinningwork,  and  united  by 
a  cordage  so  stiff  that  the  series  stands  out  like  a  stick.  They  are  attached 
to  a  triangular  patch  of  yellowish  white  silk,  which  is  an  expansion  of  a 
long,  glossy,  strong  linen  like  cord,  composed  of  many 
threads,  by  which  the  string  of  egg  balls  is  suspended. 
(Fig.  98.) 

According  to  Dr.  Marx,  whose  observations  were  made 
at  Washington,  the  string  is  hung  just  above  the  centre 
of  Basilica's  peculiar  domed  snare,  and  wholly  or  in  part 
within  the  dome,  as  represented  at  Fig.  99.  The  mother 
has  position  beneath  her  egg  bags,  back  downward,  as 
is  the  habit  of  Orb  weavers  making  horizontal  snares.^ 

When  the  cocoon  is  dissected,  it  is  found  to  consist, 
first,  of  an  exterior  sac  of  gray  material ;  within  this  is 
next  enclosed  a  round  black  case  (Fig.  100),  -four  or  five 
millimetres  in  diameter,  having  a  thin  shell  of  remark- 
able  hardness,  in  this  respect  resembling  the  cocoon  of      fi«-  ^-  cocoon  string 

^  .  -,17-1  '11  "iT  1  -1  1  ii  and  suspension  cord 

Cornigera.  When  illuminated  and  examined  under  the  of  Basilica  spider, 
microscope  this  egg  ball  is  seen  to  be  composed  of  yellow 
silken  fibre  of  exceeding  fineness,  and  so  closely  woven  that,  looked  at 
when  within  its  bag,  it  is  quite  black.  The  paper  like  stiffness  of  the  ball 
could  hardly  be  caused  by  even  such  fine  spinning,  and  I  believe  that  the 
fibres  are  smeared  with  a  viscid  secretion,  which  gives  them  their  peculiar 
stiffness.  When  this  black  case  is  cut  open  it  is  seen  to  contain  flossy  silk 
(Fig.  101),  which  forms  the  customary  wrapping  of  the  eggs  and  nest  of 
the  young  spiders. 

The  cocoon  of  Uloborus  is  about  one-fourth  inch  long,  and  one-eighth 

thick.     It  is  drawn  out  at   either  pole  into   a  point,  and  the  surface   is 

covered  with  small  pointed  or  blunted  processes.     (Fig.  102.)     It 

is  made  of  a  pure  white  silk,  quite  stiff  of  texture.     Several  of 

these  cocoons  (I  have  never  found  more  than  three)  will  be  found  united 

together  so  closely  that  they  appear  to  be  but  one  object,  and  not  strung 

^  See  for  further  details  Vol.  I.,  Chapter  IX.,  especially  page  170,  Fig.  159. 


106  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY:    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


107 


loosely,   by   attaching   threads,   as  is   the   case   of   some   other   spiders   that 

make  several  cocoons.     However,  in  this  respect,  the  habit  may  differ.     As 

a  rule  these  cocoons  are  stretched  like  those  of 
Cyclosa  caudata,  along  the  axis  of  the  mother's 
horizontal  orb,  and  are  thus  im- 
mediately under  the  maternal 
care.  (Fig.  103.)  In  this  posi- 
tion I  have  seen  them  in  New 
Jersey,  and  thus  Mrs.  Treat  has 
observed  them,  and  so  also  Mr. 
Emerton  has  described  them. 
(Fig.  104.)  Our  American  species  appears  in  this 
respect  to  have  the  same  habit  as  the  European 
species,  Uloborus  walckenaerius. 
This  mode   of   disposing  of  the   cocoon,  however,  cannot  be  universal, 

for  I  possess  a  specimen,  received  from  Dr.  George  Marx,  which  is  stretched 

along  a  little  twig,  to  which  its  orb  was  attached,  at  a  point  slightly  above 

the  cocoon  string.     (Fig.  105.) 

Hentz  describes  the  cocoon  of  Uloborus  mammeatus  as  tapering  at  both 

ends,  in  color  whitish,  with  veins  of  brownish  black,  and  with  many  small 

tubercles.     He  collected  it  in  Alabama  in  dry  places.  ^ 


Fig.  100.  Fig.  101. 

Cocoon  of  Basilica  spider :  Fig.  100, 
the  case  open  to  show  the  black 
egg  ball ;  Fig.  101,  the  ball  open 
to  show  the  inside  structure. 


Fig.  102.  Cocoon  of 
Uloborus,  enlarged 
to  show  the  surface 
points. 


VI. 

The  division  here  indicated  between  species  habitually  making  a  single 
cocoon  and  species  habitually  spinning  several  is,  on  the  whole,  a  natural 
one ;   but   there   are   certain   facts   to   be  noted   wliich  throw  a  measure  of 


Fig.  103.  Cocoon  string  of  Uloborus  in  position  upon  the  snare. 

uncertainty  around  any  such  generalization.     For  example,  it  has  long  been 
supposed  that  Argiope  cophinaria  spins  but  one  cocoon  ;  and,  judging  from 


'Spiders  of  the  United  States,"  page  129,  plate  xix.,  Fig.  120. 


108 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  104.  Cocoon  string  of 
Uloborus;  cocoons  in  the 
snare.    (After  Emerton.) 


its  size  and  the  number  of   eggs  that  are  found  therein,  one  would  seein 
to  be  sufficient  to  guarantee   the   continuance   of.  the   species.     I   have   no 

doubt  that,  as  a  general  rule,  Coph- 
inaria  makes  but  one  cocoon,  but 
that  there  are  exceptions  is  very 
certain. 

Several  years  ago  a  clerical 
friend  brought  me  two  cocoons  of 
this  species,  which  had  been  spun 
on  his  premises  by  the  same  spi- 
der. Mrs.  Mary  Treat  has  discov- 
ered what  appears  to  her  to  be  a  va- 
riety of  Argiope  cophinaria,  which 
makes  four  cocoons,  and  which  she 
accordingly  named  Argiope  multi- 
concha.  ^  She  sent  me  a  string  of 
these  cocoons,  of  which  there  were 
four,  of  the  general  shape  and  about  the  usual  size,  strung  within  a  few 
inches  of  each  other.  They  had  been  spun  against  the  wall  of  a  kitchen 
in  a  house  in  Western  Missouri.  The  spider  mother  was  also  sent,  but  the 
specimen  was  much  dried  up,  and  in  such  a  condition  that  it  could  not 
be  very  satisfactorily  studied.  It  seemed  to  differ  in  no  particular  from 
Argiope  cophinaria.  If  it  be  indeed  the  same  species,  what  are  the  pecul- 
iar circumstances  that  have  caused 
such  a  remarkable  variation  in 
habit  ?  Is  it  true  that  Cophinaria 
does,  more  frequently  than  has 
been  supposed,  indulge  in  the  lux- 
ury of  an  additional  egg  case? 
Two  cocoons  of  this  lot  were  open- 
ed and  found  to  contain  young  spi- 
ders that  had  hatched,  but  died 
within  the  egg  sac.  The  spider- 
lings  were  not  counted,  but  they 
were  very  numerous. 

During  the  summer  of  1888  a 
female  Cophinaria  was 
discovered  in  the  Farm- 
ers' Market  of  Philadel- 
phia upon  the  meat  stall 
of  one  of  the  butchers. 
She  had  probably  been  brought  into  the  market  from  the  country,  hid- 


Double 
Cocoon 
ing  Ar- 
giope. 


Fig.  105.    Uloborus  snare  and  cocoon 
string  on  adjoining  twig. 


1  "American  Naturalist,"  December,  1887,  page  1122. 


MATERNAL   INDUSTRY  :    COCOONS   OF   ORBWEAVERS. 


109 


den  among  vegetable  leaves,  as  the  huge  tarantula  and  the  large  Lateri- 
grade  spider,  Heterapoda  venatoria,  are  brought  to  our  port  from  the 
West  Indies  in  bunches  of  bananas  and  other  fruit.  Or,  she  may  have 
floated  in,  as  a  young  balloonist,  from  some  city  garden;  for  the  species  is 
abundant  in  open  grounds  within  the  city  limits.  Instead  of  •  brushing 
her  down  and  killing  her,  after  the  usual  manner  of  dealing  with  such 
creatures,  the  farmer  took  a  fancy  to  preserve  her,  and  would  allow  no 
one  around  his  stall  to  inflict  any  injury  upon  her.  She  wove  her  char- 
acteristic web  against  one  of  the  iron  rods  for  suspending  meat,  chickens, 
game,  etc.,  and  there  remained  secure  during  the  season. 

Some  time  between   the  10th  and  20th  of  August  she  be- 
gan  to  make   a   cocoon,   which    she   enclosed   within   a   little 
tent   of    interlacing    lines,    after    the    manner   of    that   repre- 
sented at  Fig.  40.     About  a  week    or  ten  days  thereafter  she 
made  a  second  cocoon,  placing  it  in  a  position  sixteen  inches 
above  the  other.     Both   of  these  co- 
coons  I   saw   precisely  as  they  were 
left  by  the  spider.     They  were  spun 
within  tents  of  crossed  lines,  five  or 
six  inches  long  and  four  or  five  wide, 
with  a  thickness  of  between  two  and 
three  inches.     The  lines  constituting 
the  under  edges  of   the  tent  were  at- 
tached  to    the   post  of    the    stall    on 
which  the  orb  was  spun.     The  upper 
tent  had  its  roof  lines  sustained  and 
drawn    out    from    the    post    by    the 
foundation    lines    of    the   orb.     (Fig. 
106.)     The  lines  composing  the  tents 
were  of   a  greenish  yellow  silk,  sim- 
ilar to  that  used  in  the  construction  of  the  cocoon  cases. 

I  removed  the  cocoons  and  opened  them.  The  lower  one  was  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  long  and  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  wide;  was  com- 
posed of  a  soft,  yellow  silken  plush,  and  inside  was  constructed  pre- 
cisely like  the  ordinary  egg  sac  of  this  species.  It  contained  one  hundred 
and  twenty  eggs,  all  of  them  sterile.  The  only  peculiarity  was  that  the 
stem  which  one  usually  finds  at  the  top  was  missing.  The  second  cocoon 
was  not  quite  so  large,  one  inch  long  and  five-eighths  of  an  inch  wide, 
but  was  more  perfect  in  shape,  containing  the  usual  stem.  The  eggs 
within  this  cocoon  were  also  sterile,  and  the  number  did  not  exceed  fifty. 
The  number  of  eggs  in  both  cases  is  small  as  compared  with  the  usual 
fecundity  of  the  species. 

We   may   probably   account  for   the   making   of   the   second   cocoon   by 
some  abnormal  condition  of  the  ovaries,  which  prevented   the   ovipositing 


110  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  all  the  eggs  at  once.  The  first  lot,  when  extruded,  were  protected  in 
the  usual  manner.  Subsequently  Nature  compelled  the  mother  to  get  rid 
of  the  remaining  eggs;  and,  moved  by  the  same  impulse  which  covered 
the  first  lot,  she  was  excited  to  overspin  the  second  also. 

This  species  will  sometimes  make  a  cocoon,  or  a  part  of  one,  in  con- 
finement, and  I  have  observed  that  she  will  occasionally  do  the  same  in 
natural  site.  1  have  the  branch  of  a  bush  which  shows  the  beginning  of 
a  cocoon,  being  the  little  cup  against  which  the  eggs  are  spun,  and  also 
what  appears  to  be  the  inner  egg  bag.  There  is  nothing  more,  and  the 
whole  is  stayed  and  shut  in  by  the  usual  tent  like  spinningwork.  Near  by 
is  a  perfect  cocoon,  secured  in  quite  the  same  manner.  If  we  suppose 
that  these  two  were  made  by  the  same  spider,  as  is  highly  probable,  we 
may  infer  that  the  original  cocooning  purpose  of  the  mother  was  diverted 
in  some  manner,  perhaps  by  alarm,  which  drove  her  from  the  spot.  She 
returned  to  enclose  the  work  partially  done,  but,  moved  by  the  urgency  of 
motherhood,  presently  found  a  neighboring  site,  and  finished  her  maternal 
duties. 

Epeira  diademata  habitually  spins  but  one  cocoon ;  but  the  Spanish 
investigator,  Termeyer,^  in  the  early  part  of  this  century,  discovered  and 
announced  that  she  would  spin  as  many  as  six  cocoons  when  specially 
nourished.  The  fact  strikes  me  as  an  extraordinary  one,  and  I  have  never 
felt  quite  free  to  fully  admit  it. 

^  Walckenaer's  Apt^res,  Vol.  I.,  page  152. 


OHAPTEE    Y. 

GENERAL  COCOONING  HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 

Having  considered  in  detail  the  structure  of  the  cocoons  of  Orbweavers, 
it  is  important  for  the  sake  of  comparison  that  we  should  also  consider 
some  of  the  typical  cocoons  of  other  tribes.  It  will  not  be  practicable  to  enter 
into  details  as  fully  as  with  the  Orbweavers,  nor  to  consider  as  many  species 
in  any  of  the  remaining  tribes.  But  I  will  give  a  few  examples,  under  each 
tribe,  of  those  species  whose  cocooning  habits  may  be  considered  typical.  ^ 


Theridium  tepidariorum    is  one  of    our  best  known   Lineweavers.     It 
appears  to  be  a  native  of  America,  and  has  been  widely  distributed  by  im- 
migration throughout  Europe.     I  judge  that  the  course  of  immi- 
Tnerid-      gration  has  been  eastward,  because  in  Europe  the  species  is  found 

,     .  almost   exclusively  in   hot  houses,  both   in   England   and   on  the 

darioruin.  .  -^  ...  .         . 

continent,  while    in  America    it  habitually  lives  in  fields,  forests, 

ravines,  among  rocks,  around  outhouses,  indeed  everywhere  that  a  cobweb 
can  be  located.  In  short,  in  Europe  the  conditions  of  its  life  are  artificial, 
in  America  natural.  It  is  a  ferocious  species  and  an  expert  trapper,  prey- 
ing upon  some  of  the  largest  insects.  It  spins  during  the  season  from 
three  to  five  ovoid  cocoons,  often  sharply  pointed  at  one  end,  varying  some- 
what in  size,  but  sometimes  at  least  a  third  of  an  inch  in  the  longest  diameter. 
These  are  woven  within  the  retitelarian  snare  of  the  creature,  and  sus- 
pended well  towards  the  top. 

Black  wall's  figure  of  the  manner  in  which  the  cocoons  are  suspended 
is  erroneous,  or  the  English  spiders  must  differ  in  habit  from  the  Ameri- 
can, I  have  never  seen  any  such  sheeted,  bell  shaped  tent  as  that  which 
this  author  represents  as  enclosing  the  cocoons. 

The  cocoon  is  rather  simple  in  structure,  consisting  of  an  outer  case  of 

yellowish  brown   material,  well  compacted,  stiff,  within  which  the 

.^       .       eggs  are  loosely  placed  without  any  or  with  but  little  interior  pad- 

'  ding.     During  the  weaving  process  the  cocoon  is  hung  by  a  strong 

thread,  or  series  of  threads,  to   the   cross  lines  of  the   snare.     The   spider 

^  My  systematic  knowledge  of  the  other  tribes .  is  far  less  than  of  Orbweavers,  and  I  have 
sometimes  had  difficulty  in  positively  identifying  the  species  whose  habits  I  have  observed. 
But  I  hope  tliat  I  have  not  erred  in  many  cases ;  certainly  not  in  enough  to  materially  affect 
my  statements  and  conclusions. 

(Ill) 


112 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


clings  to  her  web  by  one  long  fore  leg,  while  with  other  legs  she  revolves 
her  cocoon,  using  the  hind  legs,  as  is  customary,  to  draw  out  the  spinning 
stuff.      This   issues   in   numerous   diverging   filaments,  which  bunch   up  in 

minute    loops    as    the    abdomen 


descends,    and   are  beaten   down 
smooth  by  the  spinnerets. 

Our  widely  distributed  Latro- 
dectus  mactans^  quite  resembles 
Tepidariorum  in  cocooning  habit ; 
but  its  ovoid  cocoons  are  larger, 
being  a  full  half  inch  at  the  longer 
axis,  and  somewhat  more  spheri- 

FiG.  107.    Cocoons  of  Theridium  tepidariorum,  hung  in  her    cal    in    shapC.       She  makcS  at  Icast 
snare.     (About  natural  size.)  „ 

as  many  as  four  or  five  cocoons. 
Theridium  serpentinum  Hentz  ^  is  one  of  our  common  Lineweaving  spi- 
ders, whose  snares  are  found  in  dimly  lighted  cellars  and  in  rooms  aban- 
doned or  rarely  used.  In  the  angle  of  a  window  or  wall  the 
Therid-  mother  spreads  her  snare  of  intersecting  lines,  and  establishes 
mm  1  -  ]^gj.ggjf  ^^  Qjjg  Qj^^  thereof,  always  well  towards  the  top.  In  the 
course  of  time  she  succeeds  in  thickening  her  dwelling  place  by 
added  threads,  until  it  has  formed  a  sort  of  shelter  of  lines  much  more 
closely  set  than  those  of  the  rest  of  the  snare.  In  the  neighborhood  of 
this  dwelling  place  and  on 
a  line  therewith,  or  just  a 
little  above  it  and  to  one 
side,  she  spins  several  co- 
coons, in  number  four  or 
five  usually,  but  sometimes 
as  many  as  eight,  as  shown 
in  the  figure.  (Fig.  108.) 
They  are  little  white,  oblong 
or  flask  shaped  flossy  balls, 
about  quarter  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  in  the  centre  of 
which  the  eggs  are  depos- 
ited. In  the  delicateness  and 
scantiness  of  the  enveloping 
tissue,  this  cocoon  resembles 
Steatoda  borealis  and  Phol- 
cus  phalangioides.   The  eggs 

are  distinctly  seen  through   the   silken   envelope.      When   the   spiders  are 
hatched   they  hang  for   a  little   while   in   clusters   like  minute  swarms   of 


Fig.  108.    Cocoons  of  Theridium  serpentinum  in  site  at  top  of 
her  snare.    (Natural  size.) 


1  Lathrodectus  formidabilis  Walck.    See  also  Vol.  I.,  page  274. 

2  I  am  not  positive  as  to  the  identity  of  this  species. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


113 


bees  upon  the  adjoining  lines,  and  soon  thereafter  distribute  themselves,  as 
is  the  custom  with  Theridioids  generally,  to  surrounding  points,  where 
they  construct  webs  like  the  mother's. 

Another  Theridioid  spider,  whose  specific  name  is  unknown  to  me,  spins 
a  similar  snare  in  like  localities,  and  deposits  therein  several  eggs,  almost 
resembling  those  of  Serpentinum,  except  that  they  are  of  a  yellowish  brown 
color  and  more  spherical  in  shape.  They  have  a  pretty  appearance  as  they 
hang  amidst  the  crossed  lines  in  the  dusty  and  dusky  sites  which  the 
mother  frequents. 

Among   Lineweavers    making    several   cocoons   is   Argyrodes    trigonum. 

The  species  belongs  to  a  genus  quite  famous  for  its  habit  of  invading  the 

snares     of     other 

■^SY-  species,  particular- 
rodes  tri-  ,     ,,         ,    , 

ly  those  belonging 
gonum.       -^  .  -IP 

to  its  own  tribe  or 

Retitelarise,  and  those  Orb- 
weavers  that  make  com- 
pound snares  and  thus  af- 
ford a  suitable  dwelling  place 
in  the  labyrinth  or  maze  of 
crossed  lines.  I  have  ob- 
served this  habit  in  Trigo- 
num, but  have  more  fre- 
quently found  it  in  its  own 
snare.  It  is  an  awkwardly 
shaped  creature,  and  its  odd 
appearance  is  increased  by 
its  habit  of  bunching  its 
legs  together,  and  hanging 
upon  a  few  crossed  lines  in  its  snare,  as  represented  at  Fig.  109.  In' this 
position  it  looks  not  unlike  a  trussed  fowl  in  a  green  grocer's  stall. 

Her  cocoon  is  a  pretty  pyriform  hanging  basket,  about  one-fourth  inch 
in  length  and  one-eighth  in  thickness,  composed  of  stiff  yellowish  brown 
silk.  The  upper  part  is  a  cone,  rounded  or  tapering  well  to  a  point,  at 
which  is  attached  a  stiff  white  cord,  by  which  it  is  fastened  into  its  place 
among  the  crossed  lines  of  the  snare.  The  lower  part  of  the  basket  termi- 
nates in.  a  short  projection  from  the  middle.  (Fig.  110.)  The  mother 
makes  several  cocoons;  I  have  found  as  many  as  three  (Fig.  109)  hanging 
within  a  snare  at  one  time,  all  of  which  were  doubtless  made  by  the  little 
mother.  The  cocoons  are  suspended  by  long,  stout  cords.  When  this 
hanging  basket  cocoon  is  opened  the  eggs  are  seen  loosely  deposited  in  the 
midst  of  a  little  puff  of  flossy  silk.  I  sometimes  find  at  the  bottom  of  the 
cocoon  a  little  hole,  through  which  evidently  the  young  have  escaped  after 
hatching. 


Fig.  109.    Argyrodes  trigonum  in  her  snare,  with  three 
cocoons.    (Natural  size.) 


114 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Ero  tho- 
racica. 


Fig.  110.  Cocoon 
of  Argyrodes 
trigonum.  X2. 


Ero  thoracica,  a  spider  common  to  Europe  and  America,  weaves  a 
small  flossy  cocoon,  containing  about  twelve  eggs,  which  it  suspends  to 
various  objects,  grass,  twigs,  etc.,  by  a  long  thread.  (See  Fig. 
111.)  Emerton  has  found  this  spider  in  New  England ;  it  is 
common  in  winter  under  leaves;  he  has  also  seen  cocoons  like 
those  of  the  European  Ero  as  above  described,  but  has  not  identified  them 
with  the  American  species,  whose  web  he  has  not  seen, 
/-r^^  Something  similar  to   this,  but   a   little   more   complicated 

in  structure,  is  the  pretty  orange  brown  cocoon  of  Theridium 
frondeum,  which  is  found  suspended  ordinarily  to  a  stretched, 
stiffened  cord  among  rocks  or  leaves.  It  appears  particularly 
to  love  shady  positions;  at  all  events,  I  have  found  it  most 
frequently  among  rocks  on  banks  of  streams,  in  ravines,  or 
moist  and  secluded  spots,  as  far  west  as  the  hills  of  Eastern 
Ohio.  It  is  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  but  varies  some- 
what in  length. 

On  opening  this  pretty  little  cocoon  of  Theridium  frondeum, 
it  is  found  to  be  filled  with  a  delicate  white  silken  floss,  in 
the  midst  of  which  the  eggs  are  deposited  and  the  young  will  be  found 
after  hatching.  The  number  of  eggs  appears  to  differ  a  good  deal.  I 
have  counted  as  many  as  twenty-five  in  one  cocoon,  but  many  less  than 
this  in  others.  The  flossy  padding  is  compacted  well  towards  the  top  of 
the  cocoon,  and  passes  out  of  a  round  opening  therein  in  the  shape  of  a 
carded  cord  of  straight  lines  of  white  silk,  which  gradually  diminishes 
until  it  is  compacted  into  the  stiff  white  cord  by  which  the 
«.  ,  whole  is  suspended.  A  curious  arrangement  is  shown  in  the  en- 
larged figure  of  a  dissected  cocoon  (Fig.  113),  which  is  used  by 
the  spider  as  a  cap  to  the  open  top  of  her  cocoon.  In  other  words,  the 
cocoon,  instead  of. being  a  continuous  piece  of  spinningwork 
gradually  tapering  into  a  point,  as  it  appears  at  the  first 
careless  glance,  proves  to  be  composed  of  two  pieces.  First 
is  the  principal  part  or  sac,  which  has  already  been  referred 
to  as  having  a  round  opening  at  the  summit.  Fitted  di- 
rectly upon  this,  but  easily  separated  from  it  by  pulling,  is 
a  conical  cap,  which  surrounds  the  lower  part  of  the  sus- 
pensory cord  already  described.  This  cap,  by  manipulation 
under  the  microscope,  can  be  unraveled  so  that  it  is  seen 
to  have  been  formed  by  lapping  the  yellowish  cocooning 
thread,  of  which  the  main  sac  has  been  woven,  around  and 
around  the  base  of  the  suspensory  cord,  after  that  has  been 
spun.  (See  Fig.  114.)  The  whole  cocoon  forms  a  very  beau- 
tiful and  delicate  bit  of  spinningwork,  and  shows  considerable  deftness 
in  weaving  on  the  part  of  its  little  architect. 

Somewhat  similar  to  this  is  the  cocoon  of  Ero  variegata   (Theridium 


/4 

Fig.  111.  Cocoon 
of  Ero  thoracica, 
slightly  enlarged. 
(After  Cambridge . ) 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


115 


Fig.  112. 


Fig.  113, 


Fig.  U6. 


^n^  ^j[¥ 


Fig.  114. 

Fig.  112.  Cocoon  of  Theridium  frondeum,  magnified.  Fig.  113.  The  same,  natural  size,  suspended 
in  natural  site.  Fig.  114.  Cocoon  of  Argjrrodes  trigonum,  much  enlarged,  to  show  the  structure. 
Fig.  115.  The  spiral  thread  on  the  cap  and  stalk.  Fig.  116.  Cocoons  of  Ero  variegata,  twice 
natural  size.    (After  Black  wall.) 


116  AMERICAN    SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

variegatum),  a  little  spider  not  uncommon  in  England,  which  would  arrest 

the  attention  of  even  an  indiiferent  person.    It  is  of  an  elegant  pear  shape, 

formed  of  a  strong  yellow  brown  silk  network,  and  attached  by 

.     a  long  elastic  stem  of  the  same  material  to  stalks  of  dead  grass, 

sticks,  or   other   substances  in   shady  places.  ^     It  is  often  placed 

on  the  under  side  of  rocks,  stones,  etc.     The  envelope   is  double,  an  inner 

sac  being  formed  of  soft  pale  brown  silk,  loosely  woven  and  enclosed  in  a 

coarse  covering  of  dark  reddish   brown  threads,  which  unite  and  form  the 

stalk.    The  diameter  of  the  cocoon  is  about  one-eighth  inch,  and  the  length 

of  the  stalk  is  from   one-tenth  to   one-half  an   inch.     The  cocoon  contains 

about  six  brown  eggs.     The  mother  is  one-eighth  inch  long.^ 

Theridium  pallens  is  a  small  English  Lineweaver,  about  one-tenth  of 
an  inch  long,  that  makes  a  cocoon  a  little  longer  than  herself,  containing 
about  twenty  pale  yellow  eggs.  It  is  white,  of  a  close,  fine  text- 
Tnerid-  ^^.^^  ^^^  somewhat  pear  shaped;  with  several  conical  prominences 
nail  s  disposed  in  a  circle  around  its  greatest  circumference.  (Fig.  117.) 
The  sexes  pair  in  May;  the  cocoon  is  formed  in  June,  and  is 
found  on  shrubs  and  bushes,  on  heaths  or  near  woods.  ^ 

A  Lineweaver  which  I  find  in  our  fields,  and  which  I  take  to  be  The- 
ridium differens  (Fig.  118)  makes  a  globular  cocoon,  about  one-eighth  inch 
in  diameter,  a  little  larger  than  herself,  which  she  hangs  within 
her  snare  of  crossed  lines  that  may  often  be  found  spun  in  the 
interspaces  formed  by  bending  down  the  top  and  edges  of  a  leaf. 
The  cocoon  is  rather  flossy  in  its  exterior.  The  cocoon  of  the 
same  species,  or  one  closely  resembling  it,  I  find  within  the  con- 
cavity of  a  leaf,  formed  by  pulling  the  pointed  ends  inward,  as 
at  Fig.  119.  The  hollow  is  overspun  with  intersecting  lines 
which  form  the  spider's  snare  and  dwelling,  and  the  lodging 
place  for  her  egg  sac.  The  little  mother  is  usually  found  near 
her  cocoon,  which  she  often  clasps  with  her  legs,  especially  at  any  suspicion 
of  danger.  She  is  apt  to  lug  it  about  from  point  to  point  within  the  leafy 
bivouac  thus  prepared. 

A  similar  cocoon  made  by  a  Theridioid  spider  which  I  am  unable  to  iden- 
tify is  represented  at  Fig.  120.  The  cocoon  was  a  globular  one,  resembling  in 
appearance  the  last  two  described,  but  was  hidden  underneath  a  stone  within 
a  little  nest  of  characteristic  spinningwork,  but  which  on  one  side  was  protected 
by  a  semicircular  wall  of  clay,  mingled  with  silk  and  attached  to  the  under 
surface  of  the  stone.  In  this  respect,  the  cocoon  and  cocoon  nest  resemble  that 
of  Neriene  rufipes  and  others  of  this  genus  as  described  by  European  writers. 
Theridium  lineatum  Clerck  is  found  among  our  American  fauna,  Emer- 
ton'*  having  taken  it  in  Massachusetts.     It  is  common  in  Europe ;  its  cocoon 

'  Cambridge.  ^  Staveley,  "  British  Spiders,"  page  156. 

^  Blackwall,  "  Spiders  of  Great  Britain,"  page  195.        *  New  England  Therididse,  page  16. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF    SPIDERS. 


117 


Fig.  118. 


Fig.  121. 


Fig.  119. 


Fig.  120. 


Fig.  122. 


Fig.  118.    Snare  and  cocoon  of  Theridium  diflferens.         Fig.  119.    Cocoon  of  Theridium   differens   in   a 
leafy  tent.  Fig.  120.    Theridioid  cocoon  under  a  stone.  Fig.  121.    Cocoon  of  Theridium  linea- 

tum  in  natural  site  on  a  leaf.    (After  Blackwall.)        Fio.  122.    Theridium  varians  and  cocoons.    (After 
Blackwall.) 


118 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


is  formed  in  July  and  is  round,  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter,  and  bluish  or 
greenish  blue  in  color.  It  is  loosely  covered  with  silk  and  fastened  to  the 
lower  side  of  a  leaf,  the  edges  of  which  are  bound  together,  so  as  to  pro- 
tect it.i     (Fig.  121.) 

Theridium  varians  pairs  in  June,  and  in  July  the  female  constructs 
several  globular  cocoons  of  dull  white  silk,  of  a  loose  texture,  the  largest 
of  which  measures  about  one-seventh  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
Therid-  Xhey  are  attached  to  objects  situated  near  the  upper  part  of  the 
snare,  and  contain,  according  to  their  size,  from  twenty  to  sixty 
spherical  eggs,  of  a  yellowish  white  color,  not  adherent  among 
themselves.  2  (Fig.  122.)  Withered  leaves,  dried  moss,  and  particles  of 
indurated  earth  are  generally  disposed  about  the  cocoons.^  This  habit, 
which,  as  will  be  seen  further  on,  prevails  largely  in  other  families,  appears 
to  have  but  slight  hold  upon  the  cocooning  instincts  of  the  Lineweavers. 

The  little  bronze  colored  spiders 


lum  van 
ans. 


belonging  chiefly  to  the  genus  Eri- 
gone,  weave  their  cocoons  within 
the  balled  mass  of  intersecting  lines 
which  form  their  snare  and  abode. 
I  have  seen  numberless  examples 
of  these  webs,  made  manifest  by  the 
morning  dew^s  along  the  Delaware, 
shining  over  the  entire  external  foli- 
age of  a  large  spruce  tree  from  top- 
most to  lowest  bough.  Again,  they 
will  be  seen  with  other  Theridioid 
webs,  glittering  in  the  slanting  sun- 
light on  myriads  of  bunched  grass 
tops,  timothy  heads,  and  weed  tops. 
Some  species  of  Erigone  make  a  lit- 
tle balled  cocoon  similar  to  those 
of  Theridium  first  described,  and 
similarly  held  within  the  snare.  Another  form  of  cocoon  which  I  attrib- 
ute to  a  spider  of  the  same  genus  is  a  minute  white  button  shaped  or 
.  double   convex    bag,   from    one-sixteenth    to    one-eighth    inch    in 

diameter.  It  is  suspended  at  the  converging  points  of  four  lines 
(Fig.  123),  which  are  attached  to  the  surrounding  foliage,  as  in  the  ex- 
ample shown  of  a  cocoon  hung  between  two  twigs  of  pine,  near  a  Theridioid 
web,  in  which  an  Erigone  was  ensconced. 


Fig.  123.    Cocoon  of  Erigone  (?)  suspended  between 
twigs  of  pine. 


1  Staveley,  Brit.  Spiders,  page  140;  Blackwall,  Spi.  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  pi.  xiii.,  Fig.  111. 

^  Two  small  round  cocoons  are  seen  within  the  tent  like  structure  in  the  cut,  but  in  this 
case,  as  with  the  figure  of  Theridium  tepidariorum,  as  heretofore  remarked,  the  artist  has 
erred  by  drawing  in  a  sheeted  tent  instead  of  a  structure  of  open  lines. 

3  Blackwall,  Spiders  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  page  189,  pi.  xiv.,  Fig.  120,  d. 


GENERAL   COCOONING  HABITS   OF   SPIDERS,  119 


Theridium  zelotypum  makes  a  flattened  cocoon  of  soft  silk,  which  she 

establishes  within  her  pretty 'nest,  that  has  heretofore  been  described  (Vol. 

I.,  page  317)  as  a  silken,  bell  shaped  tent  thatched  with  the  leaves 

Tnend-      q£  spruce,  balsam,  hemlock,  or  other  plant  on  which  it  is  built. 

,  Within  this  the  young  are  hatched,  and   here  for  a  while  after 

their  exode  mother  and  young  may  be  found  dwelling  together. 

A  like  habit  is  possessed  by  the  English  nest  making  spider,  Theridium 
riparium,  whose  most  remarkable  nesting  architecture  is  described  Vol.  I., 
page  318.  The  mother  makes  several  yellowish  white,  round  cocoons 
about  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter.  ^ 

Theridium  sisyphum  also  shelters  her  reddish  brown  cocoons  in  a  silken 
tent  which  hangs  in  her  snare,  and  is  sometimes  strengthened  by  the  intro- 
duction of  dried  leaves  and  other  extraneous  matter.^ 

Another  English  spider,  Theridium  nervosum,  also^  forms  a  silk  lined 
nesting  tent,  thatched  with  bits  of  dead  leaves,  flowers,  or  other  particles, 
including  the  debris  of  slaughtered  insects.  Within  this  tent  the  mother 
spins  a  little  round  green  cocoon,  containing  yellowish  white  eggs.  The 
cocoon  is  one-eighth  inch  long,  the  spider  herself  being  one-sixth  inch. 
The  mother  is  usually  to  be  found  in  an  inverted  position,  embracing  her 
treasure  and  covering  it  with  her  body. 

It  is  probable  that  all  the  nest  weaving  species  of  Retitelarise  place  their 
cocoons  within  their  nests,  in  which  habit  they  substantially  agree  with 
their  congeners,  who  suspend  their  cocoons  upon  the  thickened  cross  lines 
which  form  the  resident  part  of  their  snares. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  determine  satisfactorily  from  observation  the 

cocoons  of  our  common  species  of  Linyphia,  but  the  Linyphia  montana  of 

Europe  makes  a  flattened  white  cocoon,  which  it  usually  conceals 

'  underneath  a  stone,  remaining  with  it  and  guarding  it  with  the 

greatest   care.* 

Linyphia  marginata,  one  of  our  most  common  American  spiders,  is  also 
a  European  species.^  It  pairs  in  May,  and  in  June  the  female  spins  one 
or  two  lenticular  cocoons  of  white  silk  of  a  loose  texture,  which  are  at- 
tached to  withered  leaves  or  other  objects  situated  near  the  snare.  The 
larger  of  these  cocoons  measures  half  an  inch  in  diameter  and  contains 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  spherical  eggs  of  a  palish  yellow  color,  not 
agglutinated.^ 

The  English  Linyphia  crypticolens  is  remarkable  for  the  habit  of  car- 
rying her  cocoon  fastened  by  threads  to  her  spinnerets.  It  is  globular  and 
of  a  diameter  equal  to  the  whole  length  of  the  mother,  is  formed  in  June 

^  Staveley,  British  Spiders,  page  152.         ''■  Idem,  page  143.  *  See  Vol.  I.,  page  317. 

*  Staveley,  "British  Spiders,"  page  165. 

'  Equal  to  L.  montana  Sund.,  L.  resupina  Walck, 

«  Blackwall,  Spiders  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  page  215. 


120 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


or  July,  is  a  pale  brownish  color,  containing  brown  eggs.  It  resorts  to  dark 
and  damp  places,  as  cellars  and  the  under  'surfaces  of  stones.  It  is  cer- 
tainly remarkable  to  find  a  Line- 
weaving  species  thus  approximat- 
ing the  Citigrades,  from  which  it 
so  greatly  differs  in  other  respects; 
in  the  manner  of  caring  for  the 
cocoon. 

But  in  this  habit  she  is  not 
alone  among  her  tribe.  Theridium 
carolinum  forms  in  June  a  round 
white  cocoon  one-tenth  inch  in  di- 
ameter, which  she  carries  attached 
by  threads  to  her  person,  ^  A 
pretty  little  Theridioid,  Steatoda 
maculata  (Theridium  maculatum 
Linn,),  is  also  said  to  carry  about 
its  egg  cocoon  suspended  between 
the  legs,  and  only  relinquishes  it 
when  force  is  used,  regaining  it 
quickly  if  possible. 
The  cocoon  of  Pholcus  phalangioides,  which  is  perhaps  the  very  simplest 
in  structure  of  all  this  tribe,  and  I  may  add  of  all  the  tribes,  is  simply  a 
gauzy  covering  which  encloses  the  eggs,  the  whole  being  gathered 
into  a  globular  mass.  This  is  held  by  the  spider  within  her 
jaws  as  she  hangs  in  her  ordinary  position  within  her  straggling  web  of 
intersecting  lines.  In  this  portage  of  her  egg  case  Pholcus  approaches  the 
habit  of  the  Citi- 
grades and  Tunnel- 
weavers,  (Fig.  124,) 
Scytodes  thora- 
cicaLatr,  (Scytodes 
cameratus  Hentz) 
has  been  found  by 
Mr.  Emerton,  in 
New  England,  as  a 
house  spider,  which 
he  supposes  has 
been  imported  from 

Europe.  European  observers  note  that  this  spider  carries  her  cocoon  under 
her  breastplate,  in  which  position  it  is  not  secured  by  silken  threads,  but 
is  held  by  the  falces  and   palpi.     In  this  habit  it  resembles  Pholcus,  w4th 


Fi(.i.  124.    The  mother  Pholcus  hanging  in  her  snare, 
with  cocoon  held  in  her  jaws. 


Pholcus. 


Fig.  125.    English  Pholcus  phalangioides,  with  her  cocoon.    (After  Blackwall.) 


Staveley,  "  British  Spiders,"  page  141. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


121 


which  it   is  closely  allied  structurally.     It  is  found  in  houses,  upon  walls, 

etc.,   in   warm    situations.      It   is   described    as    slow   and   deliberate   in   its 

motions,   displaying  somewhat  of  the  action  of  a  gnat  in  lifting 

, ,  .       and  poising  its  leg  in  the  air  when   walking.     The   whole   char- 

thoracica.  „     ,  ,    .          .,  i         -,        ■  mi 

acter   of  the   aranead   is   mild   and  quiet.     The  poison  fangs  are 

so  feeble  as  to  be  of  but  little  use  in  seizing  its  prey,  which  office  is  chiefly 
performed  by  the  maxillaj.  When  taken,  Scytodes  offers  no  resistance  and 
attempts  no  flight,  but,  feigning  death,  resigns  itself  quietly  to  its  fate.^ 

This  tribe  embraces  the  singular  genus  Walckenaera,  some  of  whose 
species  have  the  eyes  placed  upon  little  turret  like  elevations  of  the  ceph- 
alothorax.  Their  habits  have  not  been  carefully  studied,  and 
their  cocoons  are  little  known.  One  European  species,  Walcke- 
naera acuminata,  makes  a  cocoon  flat  on  one  side,  rounded  on  the 
other,  about  one-third  inch  in  diameter,  and  composed  of  slightly  woven 
white   silk.     It   is  found   in   autumn    on    the   under  surface  of  stones  and 


Walck- 
enaera. 


Fig.  126. 


Fiu  127. 


Fig.  128. 


Cocoon  of  Agalena  naevia,  spun  upon  bark. 
Fig.  126.    Appearance  of  exterior,  covered  with  brown  sawdust.        Fms.  127  and  128.    Views  after  the  outer 

coverings  have  been  removed. 

other  objects.  2  Our  American  fauna  has  a  number  of  closely  related  rep- 
resentatives of  this  strange  genus,  which  are  relegated  by  Emerton  to  vari- 
ous genera,^  and  it  is  probable  that  their  cocoonery  nearly  resembles  that 
of  the  above  species. 

II. 

The  most  common  Tubeweaver  in  the  Eastern  States  is  probably  the 
Speckled  Agalena,  Agalena  nsevia.  Its  funnel  shaped  nest,  with  its  broad 
sheeted  top  spread  over  the  grass  or  hedges,  or  stretched  in  mis- 
cellaneous sites,  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  objects  in  our  land- 
scape. Its  cocoon  is  attached  to  some  surface,  as  the  leaf  of  a 
tree,  a  rock,  or  the  under  surface  of  a  loose  bit  of  old  bark.  In 
this  position  Agalena  spreads  a  circular  patch  a  half  inch  or 
more   in  diameter,   within  which   she   encloses   her   eggs.     This   is   covered 


Tube- 
weaving 
Agale- 
ninee. 


^  Staveley,  "  British  Spiders,"  page  268. 
^  See  his  "NeW  England  Theridiidae." 


^  Idem,  page  205. 


122  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

again  with  a  thin  sheet,  upon  which  the  mother  overlays  a  wadding  of 
sawdust  or  pulverized  bark  gnawed  from  the  surrounding  surface.  In 
the  absence  of  such  materials,  the  upholstery  consists  of  any  available 
fibre  furnished  by  the  particular  site.  The  whole  is  then  overspun  with 
an  exterior  covering.  It  is  thus  one  of  the  most  elaborate  of  known 
cocoons,  and  apparently  is  as  well  calculated  to  preserve  the  life  concealed 
within  as  any  spinningwork  that  could  be  wrought  by  aranead  spinning 
organs. 

When  Agalena  cannot  conveniently  obtain  sawdust  and  like  material  for 
the  upholstery  of  her  cocoon,  she  will  overspin  her  eggs  without  such  pro- 
tection. For  example,  a  female  of  this  species  was  observed  upon 
Uphol-  •  ^jjg  window  of  a  chicken  house,  with  a  pretty  tubular  snare  hung 
Q  ffA  against  the  frame,  and  two  cocoons  woven  upon  the  glass  near 
by.  These  were  simply  eggs  of  a  pinkish  hue,  covered  over  with 
silken  spinningwork  and  no  upholstery  added.  I  have  also  found  Aga- 
lena's  cocoon  woven  upon  the  under   side  of  a  leaf,  in  which   position  it 

contained  no  upholstery,  and,  indeed,  quite  resem- 
bled the  cocoon  of  an  Epeiroid  spider  spun  in 
like  situation.  I  suppose  that  in  this  case,  as  also 
in  the  preceding  one,  the  difficulty  of  gnawing  off 
the  tough,  green  fibre  of  the  leaf  and   branches,  or 

Fig.  129.     Cocoon  of  Agalena  r    l^  •     ,     -i  i  o  pji  -t 

nffivia  on  loose  bark,  to  show     ^^  ^^6  painted  woodcu  iramc  01  the  Window  was  an 
the  mode  of  uniting  to  the     obstacle  which   prevented   the   mother  from   pursu- 

opposite  surface  by  a  stalk.         .  iti-,  t^i  •tt-, 

mg  her  usual  habit,  rerhaps,  indeed,  it  requires 
the  suggestion  of  near  by  and  available  material,  like  that  of  bark  or 
decayed  wood,  to  induce  this  additional  upholstering  protection  of  the 
cocoon. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  female  of  this  species,  which  I  kept  within  a 
glass  jar,  having  made  her  cocoon,  proceeded  to  collect  from  the  bottom  of 
the  jar  bits  of  debris  of  various  sorts,  which  she  placed  upon  it  in  the 
usual  position.  There  were  only  a  few  of  these  particles,  not  enough  to 
be  of  any  value  for  the  protection  of  the  enclosed  eggs,  even  if  there  had 
been  any  exposure  to  danger  under  the  circumstances.  Of  course,  it  could 
hardly  have  been  expected  that  this  mother  would  understand  that  her 
offspring,  by  reason  of  the  situation  within  a  glass  jar,  would  be  safe 
from  the  enemies  which  usually  assail  the  eggs  of  the  species  in  natural 
site. 

Sometimes  the  cocoon  of  this  species,  when  spun  upon  a  loose  piece  of 
bark,  will  have  a  thick  stalk  spun  across  to  the  opposite  surface  of  the 
tree  to  which  it  is  united  by  a  circular  patch  of  thick  silk.  (Fig.  129.) 
A  like  arrangement  is  found  when  the  cocoon  is  woven  up  against  the 
lower  side  of  a  stone,  the  exterior  or  under  part  being  then  carried  down- 
ward by  a  stalk  to  the  earth.  This  is  not  a  common  method,  however,  and 
I  can  think  of  no  good  reason  for  such  a  variation. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OP   SPIDERS. 


123 


Agalena  labyrinthea  of  Europe  resembles  in  its  general  habits  the  Aga- 

lena  nsevia  of  America.     According  to  Walckenaer  the  female  makes  her 

single  cocoon  in  the  month  of  August,  which  she  encloses  within 

Agalena    ^  huge  purse  like  web  full  of  soil  and  vegetable  detritus.     When 

*  ^  the  web  is  removed,  the  cocoon  is  seen  to  be  about  the  size  of  the 

nntnea. 

end  of  one's  thumb,  and  woven  of  a  fine  silken  tissue  enveloped 

by  clods   of   earth.     Next  to   these  is  another   envelope   of   silk,  and  then, 

finally,  particles  of  soil  so  strongly  adhering  to  the  cocoon  that  they  cannot 

well  be  separated.     When  the  cocoon  is  opened,  it  is  found  to  be  formed 

of  a  thick,  tough  web.     On  the  exterior  it  is  beautifully  white  and  perfectly 

polished.     It  contains  as  high  as   one  hundred   and  thirty-four  eggs   of  a 

greenish  yellow  color.  ^ 

The  well    known  cellar   spider,  Tegenaria  derhamii,^  which   is   widely 


Fig.  130. 


Fig.  131. 


Fig.  130.    Snare  of  Tegenaria  derhamii  in  a  cellar  window,  with  three  cocoons  suspended  thereto. 
Fig.  131.    One  cocoon,  natural  size. 


distributed  over  both  hemispheres,  conceals  her  eggs  within  a  flattened 
ball  or  hemisphere  of  soft  silk,  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood 
of  her  snare.  Sometimes  this  is  suspended  by  threads  to  the 
snare  itself  (see  Vol.  I.,  page  239,  Fig.  221),  or  again  is  attached 
directly  to  it,  and  the  envelope  interwoven  with  the  fibre  of  the  web,  so 
that  it  has  much  the  appearance  of  a  rounded  button  upon  a  coat.     Fig.  130 


Tege- 
naria 


^  Walckenaer,  Aptdres,  Vol.  II.,  page  22. 

^  I  have  supposed  that  the  Medicinal  spider  of  Hentz,  Tegenaria  medicinalis,  is  identi- 
cal with  this  species,  and  have  so  used  the  name  in  Vol.  I.  Mr.  Emerton,  however,  in  a 
recent  paper,  declares  Hentz's  Tegenaria  medicinalis  to  be  a  Coelotes,  and  separate  from  T. 
derhamii.  He  classifies  as  Coelotes  medicinalis  the  spider  that  I  have  heretofore  considered 
Hentz's  Tegenaria  persica.  See  Trans.  Conn.  Acad.,  Vol.  VIII.,  1889-90,  New  Eng.  Spiders 
of  the  Families  Draesidse,  etc. 


124 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


represents  the  snare  and  cocoon  of  one  of  these  spiders.  The  mother 
was  hidden  within  a  curtained  screen  or  tower  newly  spun.  On  the  beam 
just  above  the  snare  hung  two  cocoons.  They  were  attached  above  and  on 
the  sides  to  the  beam,  and  in  front  and  on  the  sides  to  the  flap  of  the 
snare.  Their  position  was  such  that  they  were  just  above  and  in  front  of 
the  door  of  the  den.  One  of  them  was  covered  with  black  particles  of 
dust.  They  were  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  Figs.  132  and  133  are 
views  of  the  manner  in  which  the  cocoons  were  suspended.  One  often 
finds  these  cocoons  woven  into  the  texture  of  abandoned  snares  in  cellars 
and  outhouses.  Fig.  130  is  a  sketch  of  such  a  web  hanging  in  a  window 
of  my  church  cellar.  The  pouch  like  snare  stretched  upward  to  the  window- 
roof,  and  at  the  bottom,  on  either  side  of  the  tube  or  tower,  three  button 
shaped   cocoons  were  inserted.     They   w^ere  still  white  when    sketched    in 

midwinter,  although  the  web  was 
much  soiled  with  the  cellar  dust 
and  soot.  I  do  not  know  that 
all  three  cocoons  were  made  by 
one  mother. 

Coelotes  medicinalis  (Tegena- 
ria  persica  Hentz)  usually  spins 
her  cocoons  on  or  near  her  snare. 
I  have  found  in  one  snare  two 
globular  cocoons  covered  with  bits 
of  clay.  One  contained  round 
whitish  eggs;  the  other  had  liv- 
ing spiderlings  with  white  cephalothorax  and  greenish  abdomen. 

Agroeca  brunnea  ^  is  an  English  species.  The  sexes  pair  in  May, 
and  in  the  month  of  June  the  female  constructs  an  elegant  vase  shaped 
cocoon  of  white  silk,  of  a  fine  compact  structure,  attached  by  a  short  fopt 
stalk  to  rushes,  stems  of  grass,  heath,  or  gorse.  It  measures  about  one- 
fourth  inch  in  diameter,  and  contains  from  forty  to  fifty  yellowish  spher- 
ical eggs,  enveloped  in  white  silk,  connected  with  the  anterior"  surface  of 
the  cocoon,  contiguous  to  the  foot  stalk.  Greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of 
its  appearance,  the  cocoon  is  smeared  with  moist  soil,  which  when  dried 
serves  to  protect  it  from  the  weather,  and,  as  an  additional  security,  the 
extremity  is  closed  and  directed  downward.  ^  In  the  illustration  (Fig.  134) 
the  uppermost  cocoon  is  shown  as  it  is  first  spun,  the  two  lower  cocoons 
as  they  appear  when  plastered.  Another  drawing  (Fig.  135)  of  this  beau- 
tiful cocoon,  which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  all  English  araneologists, 
is  taken  from  Rev.  Pickard-Cambridge.  With  it  is  a  similar  cocoon  of 
an  English  congener,  Agroeca  proxima  (Fig.  136),  woven  like  the  former 
species  upon  a  twig  of  heather.^ 

1  Agalena  brunnea  Blckw.         ^  Blackwall,  Spid.  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  page  160,  pi.  xii.,  Fig.  102. 
^  Spiders  of  Dorset,  Vol.  I.,  pi.  ii.,  Fig.  7. 


Fig.  132.  Fk;.  133. 

Figs.  132, 133.    Suspended  cocoons  of  Tegenaria  derhamii. 
(Natural  size.) 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS.  125 


Coelotes  saxatilis  makes  a  cocoon  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  containing 

yellowish  white  eggs.     The  external  case  is  partly  plastered  with 

CcBlotes     earth.     (Fig.  137.)     Textrix  lycosina  has  the  same  habit  of   pro- 

T  xt  ■        tecting  her  cocoon,  which  is  usually  woven  to  the  under  side  of 

a   stone   near   her   tubular   hiding   place.     It   is   white,  flattened, 

and  about  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter.  ^ 

According  to  the  Swedish  naturalist  Clerck^  the  eggs  of  the  Water  spider, 
Argyroneta  aquatica,  are  round,  of  a  saffron  yellow  color,  contained  within 
a  globular  silken  cocoon,  which  occupies  about  one-fourth  of  the 
^  subaqueous  maternal  cell.     (Fig.  138.)     The  female  remains  con- 

aquatica.  stantly  near  it,  keeping  her  abdomen  in  the  interior  of  her  hab- 
itation, and  the  fore  part  of  her  body  in  the  water.  The  figures 
of  this  cocoon  (Figs.  139  and  140)  are  from  Blackwall,^  and  represent  a 
hemispherical  or  disk  like  object  resembling  cocoons  made  by  many  terres- 
trial Tubeweavers,  especially  the  Clubionidse.  Argyroneta's  cocoon  presents 
the  appearance  of  having  been  woven  against  a  flat,  solid  surface,  or  per- 
haps the  silken  walls"  of  the  cell.  Other  naturalists  represent  it  as  being 
swung  like  a  hammock  across  the  cell,  somewhat  in  the  fashion  of  the 
cocoons  of  various  Tunnelweavers  hereafter  described. 

Blackwall's  description  of  the  cocoon,  its  site,  and  preservation  is  as  fol- 
lows :  Argyroneta  aquatica  habitually  passes  the  greater  part  of  its  life  in 
the  water,  not  only  pursuing  its  prey  in  that  liquid,  but  constructing  be- 
neath its  surface  a  drum  shaped  cell  in  which  is  placed  its  cocoon  of  white 
silk  of  a  compact  tex'ture  and  lenticular  form,  containing  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  eggs  of  a  yellow  color,  not  agglutinated  together.  This  is  well 
supported  in  a  vertical  position,  the  open  part  being  directed  downwards 
by  lines  of  silk  connecting  it  with  aquatic  plants,  and  as  it  comprises  a 
considerable  quantity  of  atmospheric  air,  the  spider  can  at  all  times  occupy 
it  without  experiencing  the  least  inconvenience.  In  swimming  and  diving 
Argyroneta  assumes  an  inverted  position,  and  is  more  or  less  enveloped  in 
air  confined  by  the  circumambient  water  among  the  hairs  with  which  it 
is  clothed.  The  supply  is  always  more  abundant  on  the  under  than  on 
the  upper  part,  in  consequence  of  the  greater  length  and  density  of  the 
hairs  distributed  over  its  surface. 

Passing  into   the   large   and  varied   family  of   Drassids,  we   find  a   sub- 
stantial  uniformity  in   the   general   shape   and   structure   of   their   cocoons. 
These  are  usually  lenticular  or  button  shaped  (piano  convex)  ob- 
Family      jects   woven   against    some    solid   surface   in   the   vicinity  of    the 
. ,  tubular  nest  or  ordinary  haunts  of   the  species.     The  covering  is 

a  close  textured  silk,  as  stiff   as  parchment.      The  circular   piece 
attached    to    the    surface    is    of    similar    composition,    and    the    eggs    are 

^  Blackwall,  Spid.  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  pi.  xii.,  Fig.  109.  ^  Aran.  Svecici.,  page  149. 

» Sp.  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  pi.  viii.,  Figs.  87  g,  h. 


126 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  136. 


Fig.  134. 


:  '.•"•'ir'riV-;. 


Fig.  138. 


Fig.  137. 


Fig.  139. 


Fig.  140. 


Fig.  143. 


Fig.  134.  Cocoons  of  Agalena  brunnea,  attached  to  moss.  Slightly  enlarged.  (After  Blackwall.)  Fig. 
135.  Cocoon  of  Agroeca  brunnea.  Fig.  136.  Cocoon  of  Agrceca  proxima,  attached  to  a  sprig  of  heather. 
(After  Cambridge.)  Fig.  137.  Cocoons  of  Coelotes  saxatilis,  natural  size,  with  particles  of  earth 
daubed  on  the  surface.  (After  Blackwall.)  Fig.  138.  Subaqueous  cocooning  nest  of  the  Water  spider. 
(After  Cuvier.)  Fig.  139.  Cocoon  of  Argyroneta  aquatica,  front  view.  Fig.  140.  Side  view.  (After 
Blackwall.)  Fig.  141.  Two  Drassid  cocoons  woven  against  a  board.  Fio.  142.  One  detached,  to 
show  the  flat  bottom.       Fig.  143.    Cocoon  of  Clubiona  tranquilla  (probably),  woven  upon  bark. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


127 


Fig.  144.    Cocoon  of  Clubiona  tranquilla,  woven  on 
a  stick,  and  slightly  mud  plastered. 


commonly  deposited  inside,  without  any  or  with  only  a  little  flossy  pad- 
ding. The  exterior  is  frequently  plastered  more  or  less  freely  with  mud 
or  the  detritus  of  decayed  wood. 

Clubiona  tranquilla  makes  a  hemispherical  or  button  shaped  cocoon, 
which  is  attached  to  various  surfaces,  as  of  rocks,  bark,  or  boards.  (Fig. 
143.)  One  female  confined  within  a  jar  for  observation  spun  her  co- 
coon upon  a  little  twig  placed  for  her 
convenience  within  the  vessel.  As  first 
completed  by  the  mother  the  external 
covering  was  pure  white  silk.  But,  fol- 
lowing her  maternal  instinct,  she  de- 
scended to  the  earth  upon  the  bottom 
of  the  jar,  collected  pellets  of  mud  between  her  mandibles,  carried  them  up 
to  her  cocoon,  and  daubed  the  surface  over  in  little  ridges  until  the  whole 
was  quite  mottled  with  the  plastered  mud.     (Fig.  144.) 

-  Sometimes  the  Drassid's  cocoon  is  contained  within  the  tubular  domi- 
cile of  the  mother,  and  this  again  will  be  overspread  with  a  tent  of  deli- 
cate texture,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Parson  spider,  Prosthesima  ecclesiastica 
(Herpyllus  ecclesiasticus  Hentz).     (Fig.  145.) 

The  Parson  spider  is  a  quite  large  species  one  half  inch  long,  with  a 
black  body,  marked   along   the   thorax   and  dorsum   of   the   abdomen  with 
decided  circular  and  oblong  patches  of  white,  to  which  peculiar 
"^^^  markings  it  owes  its  specific  name.     Its  habits  are  those  of  the 

g  . ,  Drassids  generally,  although  it  is  not  as  sedentary  as  some  others, 

but  wanders  in  search  of  prey.  It  is  commonly  found  upon  trees, 
fences,  etc.,  near  some  recess  or  opening  into  which  it  may  retreat.  Like 
some  of  our  common  house  Theridioids,  it  is  fond  of  taking  refuge  under 
the  projecting  parts  of  outhouses.  In  winter  it  is  found  wrapped  in  a 
thick  sheeted  tube  of  silk  under  the  bark  of  trees  and  like  situations.  It 
is  active  in  its  movements,  and  prowls  for  its  prey.     It  makes  its  cocoon 

early  in  June.  This  is  com- 
posed of  several  layers  of  pure 
white  silk,  between  one  of 
which  particles  of  dust  are 
placed  and  quilted  in  with 
spinningwork.  I  have  found 
the  chippings  of  the  carpenter 
bee  among  these  particles. 
An  interesting  and  rather  pretty  little  Tubeweaver,  which  appears  to  be 
Micaria  aureata,  the  Herpyllus  aureatus  of  Hentz,  conceals  its  cocoon  with- 
in a  double  tent.  (Fig.  146.)  The  cocoon  itself  is  a  small,  button  shaped 
object,  containing  a  few  brownish  yellow  eggs.  The  example  illustrated  in 
the  figure  was  .  spun  within  the  angle  of  a  wall,  and  covered  over  with  a 
tube  such  ^s  the  spider  usually  spins  for  a  dwelling  place.     Openings  were 


Fig.  145.    The  Parson  spider  brooding  her  cocoon  within  an 
enclosing  tent. 


128 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


left  at  either  end  of  this  tube.  Above  the  whole,  and  quite  encompassing 
it,  was  woven  a  large  tent  several  times  the  size  of  the  first  tube,  and 
composed  of  spinningwork  whose  threads  were  quite  closely  placed,  but  of 
so  thin  tissue  that  one  could  see  through  it  without  any  difficulty.  A 
large  opening  appeared  at  one  end  of  this  external  tent,  but  whether  it 
was  left  of  purpose  for  a  door,  or,  more  probably,  was  the  result  of  acci- 
dent, I  could  not  determine. 

Among  the  Drassids  which  I  have  found  in  Colorado  is  a  species  of 
Gnaphosa,  which  I  took  under  a  stone  on  the  summit  of  the  Snowy  Range. 
It  was  dwelling  in  a  little  tubular  nest.  This  species,  according 
to  Emerton,^  is  found  all  over  New  England,  from  the  White 
Mountains  to  New  Haven.  Professor  Packard  found  a  female 
with  a  cocoon  of  eggs  on  Gray's  Peak,  Colorado,  over  eleven  thousand  feet 


Gna- 
phosa 


Fig.  146.    Cocoon  of  Micaria  aureata  within  an  interior  and  exterior  tent. 


high.  It  thus  has  a  remarkably  great  geographical  as  well  as  vertical  dis- 
tribution. The  spider  lives  under  stones  and  leaves.  The  cocoon  is  white 
and  flat,  with  its  diameter  as  great  as,  or  greater  than,  the  length  of  the 
spider.  Emerton  says  that  the  female  stays  near  her  cocoon,  but  makes 
no  nest.  I  would  have  expected  her  to  make  her  cocoon  within  her  cell. 
Some  of  the  Drassids,  like  the  Agalenads,  protect  their  cocoons  by  com- 
pletely enclosing  them  in  cases  of  mortar.  Among  these  is  a  species  sent 
me  for  determination  by  Mr.  F.  M.  Webster,  assistant  entomolo- 
Mud  g|g|.  q£  ^Y\q   State   of   Illinois,  through  whose   intelligent    interest 

Q  the  remarkable  facts  concerning  this  spider  have  thus  been  made 

known.  Mr.  Webster  has  found  these  mud  cocoons  throughout 
the  whole  range  of  Illinois,  a  State  of  great  longitudinal  extent.  Two 
balls  from  Southern  Illinois  are  larger  than  the  others,  and  composed  of 

^  New  Eng.  Drassidse,  Trans.  Conn.  Acad.,  Vol.  VIII.,  page  13. 


PLATE 


MIMICRY   OF    ENVIRONMENT.     TRAPDOOR    SPIDERS. 

1,  Burrow  with  door  of  dry  olive  leaves,  closed.       2,  The  same,  open. 
3,  4,  5,  Trapdoor  covered  with  moss. 


GENERAL   COCOONING  HABITS   OF   SPIDERS.  129 


yellowish  earth  or  clay ;  but  balls  from  Central  Illinois  are  made  out  of 
the  rich  black  soil  common  to  the  prairies.  They  vary  in  diameter  from 
one-half  to  one-fourth  of  an  inch.  (Figs.  147,  148.)  From  most  of  them 
a  slight  silken  cord  protrudes  (Figs.  147,  148,  153,  154),  by  which  they  are 
often  found  attached  to  the  under  side  of  a  board  or  stone.  The  cord  is 
sometimes  thickened  into  a  cup  shaped  patch  at  the  point  of  attachment, 
and  is  occasionally  composed  of  several  threads.  When  these  mud  balls 
are  softened  in  water  one  is  able  to  open  them,  and  in  some  cases  the 
mud  peels  ofP  in  little  layers  like  the  skin  of  an  onion,  indicating  that  the 
method  of  structure  is  to  plaster  a  thin  coating  of  mud  upon  the  entire 
cocoon,  and  add  successive  layers,  which  likewise  cover  the  whole  surface 
before  another  layer  is  begun.  It  is  evident  that  no  Utile  mechanical  skill 
is  involved  in  such  even  distribution  of  the  mortar. 

In  the  centre  of  the  mud  ball  is  found  a  cocoon  of  delicate  structure 
and  pure  white  color  (Figs.  151,  152),  within  which  a  few  eggs  are  depos- 
ited. This  can  be  lifted  out  of  its  matrix,  leaving  the  round 
-'■^®  concavity  smooth  and  well  defined,  as  shown  at  Figs.  149,   150. 

Q,  ,  The  stock  of  the  cocoon  is  carried  at  one  point  entirely  through 
the  mud  ball,  and  issues  at  the  surface  in  a  thin  cord  whose 
use  has  been  alluded  to  above.  This  stalk  or  suspensory  cord  is,  of  course, 
spun  before  the  plastering  begins,  and  is  covered  over  gradually,  an  act 
which  must  require  delicate  manipulation. 

By  keeping  some  of  the  cocoons  in  a  moist  condition,  I  was  able  to 
hatch  from  one,  May  30th,  a  brood  of  about  thirty  lively  young  Drassid 
spiderlings.  They  apparently  belong  to  the  genus  Micaria,  and  I  therefore 
named  the  species  Micaria  limicunse,^  although  with  much  hesitation,  as 
it  is  difficult  to  determine  species  from  young  spiders. 

These  mud  balls  in  external  form  closely  resemble  the  spherical  mud 
egg  nest  of  the  wasp  Eumenes,  which  I  have  often  found  attached  to  the 
stalks  of  weeds,  grasses,  etc.,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia.  (Fig. 
156.)  It  is  certainly  interesting  to  observe  that  this  habit  of  concealing 
the  future  progeny  within  a  globular  cradle  of  mud  belongs  to  a  spider 
as  well  as  to  a  wasp,  and  to  note  how  maternal  solicitude  finds  expression 
in  like  forms  among  widely  separated  orders. 

Limicunse  appears  to  be  much  subject  to  the  attacks  of  hymenopterous 
parasites.  Mr.  Webster  found  parasitic  ichneumon  flies  in  some  of  his 
boxes,  which  had  evidently  crawled  out  of  one  of  the  mud  balls. 
Limicu-  gome  of  the  balls  seen  by  him  had  openings  in  the  side  about 
p  .,  one  millimetre  in  diameter  (Fig.  148),  from  which  evidently 
the  ichneumon  had  escaped,  since  it  contained  the  stiff  white 
silken  case  commonly  spun  by  the  larva  of  this  insect.  I  secured  from 
one  of  my  specimens,  in  the  process  of   hatching   the  spiderlings,  two  of 

^  Proceedings  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Philadelphia,  1884,  page  153. 


130 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


150 


^t     151 


152 


149 


153 


148 


154 


r-T^ 


155 


147 


Mud  plastered  cocoons  of  Drassid  spiders. 


Figs.  147-152.    Micaria  limicunse.    X  2.        Figs.  153-155.    Unknown  species  from  Alexandria  Bay.    X  2. 
Fig.  156.    Mud  nest  of  a  wasp  Eumenes. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS.  131 


these  flies,  which  were  determined  by  the  eminent  hymenopterist,  Mr.  Ezra 
T.  Cresson,  to  be  Pezomachus  meabilis  Cresson. 

I  collected  cocoons  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  Limicunae  near  Alex- 
andria Bay,  New  York,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River.     They  were 
A  Con-       attached  by  very  loose  spinningwork  to  the  under  side  of  stones, 
p°  but  the  external  case,  instead  of  being  mud,  was  a  mass  of  ag- 

Ball.  glomerated   particles   of   old   wood,   bark,    leaves,  blossoms,  shells 

and  wings  of  insects,  etc.,  which  were  held   together  by  a   deli- 
cate weft  of  threads.     (Figs.  153,  154,  157.) 

Two  of  these  balls  contained  whitish  cocoons  similar  to  those  in  the 
mud  balls  of  Limicunae.  (Fig.  155.)  Another  had  within  it  the  charac- 
teristic cases  of  some  hymenopterous  insect,  containing  dried  pupse.  A 
very  thin  veneering  of  soil  immediately  enclosed  the  silken  egg  pouch, 
but  otherwise  no  mud  plaster  was  used.  I  did  not  succeed  in  hatching 
spiders  from  the  specimens,  and  could  not  therefore  determine  that  these 
cocoons  were  made  by  the  same  spider  that  constructs  the  mud  balls  of 
Illinois,  but  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  were  made  by 
the  same  or  a  closely  related  species.^ 

This   habit   of   protecting    cocoons   with    an   armor   of 
mud  and  agglutinated  rubbish  of  divers  kinds,  is  widely 
spread,  and  is,  no  doubt,  quite  cosmopolitan.     It  is  pos- 
sessed by  several  of  the  European  species.     Teg- 
i-.  ?i-  1^  ^  enaria  agrestis  is  found   under  rocks,  in  which 

Catholic.  "  XI  ..       1  1  1  I'Ki.     157.        Globular 

position  tha  mother  attaches  her  large  cocoon,  cocoon  of  Micaria 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  formed 'of  a  triple  or  armored  with  chip- 
quadruple  envelope.  The  first  are  thin,  white,  containing 
a  layer  of  sand  and  the  debris  of  insects  agglutinated  together,  followed 
by  a  third  envelope  of  beautiful  orange  red,  which  contains  a  loose  wad, 
a  little  compacted  where  the  eggs  are.  The  mother  makes  several  cocoons, 
which  she  abandons  and  leaves  isolated,  or  which  she  encloses  under  a 
single  web,  fine  and  transparent.  In  France  these  cocoons  are  found  in 
July  and  August,  chiefly  in  woods.  ^ 

The  cocoon  of  Tegenaria  emaciata,  as  described  by  Walckenaer,  is  formed 
of  a  round  mass  larger  than  a  good  sized  pea.  This  mass  is  composed  of 
soil  agglutinated  and  mingled  with  the  detritus  of  the  bodies  of  small  in- 
sects, as  beetles,  ants,  and  others.  In  the  midst  of  this  mass  of  earth  is 
placed  the  cocoon,  of  a  beautiful  orange  yellow  color,  but  not  perfectly 
globular,  having  the  shape  of  a  little  flask. 

The  particles  of  earth  which  enclose  this  are  held  together  by  filaments 
of  silk,  but  are  not  enveloped  by  white  silk,  as  is  the  case  with  Tegenaria 
agrestis.     The  immediate  envelope  of   the  cocoon  is  a  pellicle   so   compact 

^  McCook:  "A  Spider  that  makes  a  Spherical  Mud  Daub  Cocoon."  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Philadelphia,  1884,  page  151. 

^  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  ^'^olume  II.,  page  8. 


132 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


that  one  can  tear  it.  Walckenaer  found,  August  20th,  twenty-six  spider- 
Hngs  perfectly  developed  enclosed  within  a  cocoon.  Each  w^as  about  a 
millimetre  long,  of  a  milk  white  color,  the  eyes  not  very  distinct.  In 
another  cocoon,  found  at  the  same  period,  he  counted  twenty-three  ^ggs. 
He  saw  no  web  near  the  tube  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cocoons.  ^  Ex- 
amples of  the  same  mode  of  treating  cocoons  by  the  European  Agroeca 
brunnea  have  already  been  given. 

While  walking  through  the  fields  near  the  home  of  Mr.  F.  M.  Camp- 
bell, at  Hoddesdon,  Hertz,  England,  I 
noticed  a  number  of  pretty,  spherical 
nests  which  had  been  formed  by  mass- 
ing together  spikelets  of  a  species  of 
grass.  A  ball  about  the  size  of  a  hick- 
ory nut,  that  is  to  say,  one  inch  in  di- 
ameter, was  thus  formed.  At  first  sight 
I  took  this  to  be  the  work  of  lepidop- 
terous  larvae,  but  upon  plucking  some 
nests  the  spinningwork  which  bound  the 
spikelets  together  appeared  to  be  spider 
silk  rather  than  that  of  a  moth  larva. 

One  of  the  nests  was  therefore  opened 
and  proved  to  contain  a  species  of  Dras- 
sid  which  I  took  to  be  a  Clubiona. 
Unfortunately,  the  specimens  which  I 
had  preserved  for  further  examination 
Fig.  158.  cocooning  nest  of  wcrc  lost,  and  I  cau  ouly  glvc  this 
an  English  Drassid,  woven    ggucral  identification.     The  species,  as  I 

upon  tops  of  grass.    (From  ^  t     .  -, 

Nature.)  remembered   it,   seemed    much    like   our 

American  Clubiona  pallens,  or  the  Eng- 
lish Clubiona  hollosericea.  The  drawings  (Fig.  158)  were  made 
from  specimens  which  I  brought  home,  and  upon  careful  ex- 
amination prove  beyond  doubt  to  be  the  home  nest  of  a  spi- 
der, woven  upon  heads  of  a  grass  somewhat  resembling  maize, 
probably  Leersia  oryzoides  Swz.,  or  Rice  Cut-grass.  When  cut 
open,  a  hollow  sphere  of  white  silk  is  disclosed,  which  is  the  dainty  cell 
in  which  the  aranead  lived.  A  veritable  fairy  palace !  Among  the  British 
Clubionidse,  as  described  by  Blackwall  and  Staveley,  I  can  only  find  one 
species,  Clubiona  erratica,  whose  habits  would  suggest  such  a  nest  as  this. 
The  cocoon  of  this  species  is  white  and  nearly  round.  The  mother  places 
it  in  a  nest,  around  which  she  forms  a  guard  by  binding  together  the 
branches  of  firs  or  other  plants  in  the  midst  of  which  she  is  placed.  She 
remains  in  the  nest  with  her  young.  ^ 


^  Apteree,  Volume  II.,  page  14. 


Staveley,  British  Spiders,  page  110. 


GENERAL   COCOONING  HABITS  OP   SPIDERS. 


133 


This  species,  however,  as  described  by  the  English  authors,  does  not 
correspond  with  my  recollection  of  the  inhabitant  of  the  pretty  nest  which 
I  have  noticed.  It  is  possible  that  my  memory  may  be  at  fault, 
^    ,  and  that  this  cocooning  tent  was  prepared  by  the  female  of  Clu- 

biona  erratica.  American  Drassids,  as  we  have  seen,  make  simi- 
lar spherical  nests,  but  I  know  none  that  thus  hangs  them  to  foliage. 

The  substantial  agreement  in  cocooning  habit  between  the  Drassids  of 
America  and  those  of  Europe  may  further  be.  seen  by  comparing  the  fol- 
lowing descriptions  of  English  species.  The  female  of  Drassus  ater  con- 
structs a  large  white  cell  of  close  texture,  usually  in  a  hole  in  the  earth  or 
under  a  stone.  Within  this,  in  the  month  of  May,  she  places  a  piano  con- 
vex cocoon,  which  is  attached  by  its  flat  side  to  the  stone  or  other  sub- 
stance on  which  the  cell  is  formed.     This  cocoon  is  white  or  slightly  yel- 


FlG.  159. 


Fig.  161. 


English 
Drassids. 


Fig.  160. 

De  Geer's  sketches  of  Clubiona 'cocoon  nests. 
Fig.  159.    On  birch  leaves.       Fio.  160.    Cocoon  of  the  same.       Fig.  161.    Nest  on  an  apple  leaf. 

lowish  at  first,  but  afterwards  becomes  yellowish  in  color.     The  female  re- 
mains on  guard  by  her  eggs. 

The  cocoon  of  Drassus  sylvestris  is  white,  of  a  flattened  shape,  and  a 
little  less  than  one-third  inch  in  diameter.  It  is  formed  in  July 
and  concealed  in  the  silken  cell  in  a  hole  in  the  earth  under 
stones.  The  mother  is  usually  found  with  her  cocoons. 
Drassus  lapidicolens  conceals  herself  in  a  cell  formed  between  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  and  the  under  side  of  a  stone,  near  which  she  spins  some 
threads,  forming  an  irregular  square.  In  this  cell,  in  the  months  of  July 
and  August,  she  places  her  cocoon,  covering  it  with  dead  leaves.  This,  at 
first,  is  in  the  form  of  a  flattened  sphere,  but  becomes  nearly  round  when 
the  young  are  about  to  escape.  It  is  white  and  about  one-half  an  inch  in 
diameter.  The  mother  remains  with  her  young  some  time  after  the  eggs 
are  hatched.  The  cocoons  formed  by  the  beautiful  little  Drassus  nitens 
are  about  one-sixth  inch  in  diameter,  hemispherical,  and  white.  The 
mother  inhabits  a  tube  which  proceeds  from  the  upper  side  of  the  cocoon.  ^ 


See  descriptions  of  Blackwall  and  Staveley. 


134 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIll   SPINNINGWORK. 


De  Geer's 
Figures. 


I  present  in  this  connection  two  of  the  earliest  published  figures  rep- 
resenting the  spinningwork  of  spiders  of  this  family,  both  of  them  prob- 
ably belonging  to  the  genus  Clubiona.  They  were  made  by  that 
pioneer  araneologist,  Baron  De  Geer.  Fig.  159^  represents  a  leaf 
nest  with  the  spider  within  it,  woven  on  the  inner  surfaces  of 
birch  leaves.  This  constituted  the  mother's  dwelling  and  the  egg  nest  of 
her  cocoon.  The  mother  remained  with  most  of  her  body  concealed  within 
her  nest,  but  her  fore  feet  were  held  outside  ready  to  seize  w^hatever  prey 
might  pass  by.  Fig.  160  is  the  cocoon  separated  from  the  enclosing  nest. 
Fig.  161  represents  an  apple  leaf  within  the  concave  inside  of  which  is  seen 
a  white  cell  spun  by  the  female  of  Araneus  pallidus  Clerck  ("Araignee 
tapissiere"),  apparently  a  species  of  Clubiona.  It  serves  as  a  dwelling 
for  the  mother  and  contains  also  her  cocoon,  within  which  the  eggs 
are  deposited  and  the   3'^oung  hatched.     The   nest  was   sketched  July  25th. 

It  was  opened  and  the  spiderlings  found  within 
with  their  mother.  The  mother  showed  no  fear, 
but  stayed  by  her  little  ones  closely,  even  during 
the  process  of  tearing  open  the  nest  for  examina- 
tion. 2 

The  Dysderads  form  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing families  of  the  Tubeweavers,  and  are  especially 
distinguished  by  having  six  instead  of  eight  eyes, 
six  spinnerets,  and  four  breathing  holes.  In  their 
general  habits  they  are  closely  related  to  the  Dras- 
sids,  living  in  tubes  or  cells  of  silk  formed  under 
stones  in  cracks  and  crannies  of  walls,  fence  rails, 
old  trees,  and  similar  places.  Our  most  common 
species  in  this  geographical  province  is  Dysdera 
bicolor.^  I  have  found  it  in  great  numbers  occu- 
pying numerous  interstices  between  the  stones  of  an  old  barn  in  Delaware 
County,  and  in  the  interspaces  between  door  jambs  and  window  frames  of 
the  wall. 

Tubes  of  all  sizes,  from  those  of  baby  spiderlings  to  grizzled  adults',  had 
their  outlet  upon  the  wall  surface,  at  which  points  the  tube  widened  out 
into  a  rectangular  margin  or  flap,  by  which  it  was  attached 
to  the  wall.  The  species  is  widely  distributed  over  the  adjoin- 
ing fields,  in  fences,  etc.,  and  the  accompanying  figure  was  drawn 
from  a  huge  walnut  tree  that  stood  solitary  in  a  meadow.  The  trunk  was 
cleft  by  a  longitudinal  fissure  twelve  feet  or  more  in  length  and  from  an 
inch  to  two  inches  wide.  The  bark  was  stripped  off  along  the  edges  of 
this  fissure,  and  within  the  crevice  ten  or  twelve  tubes  were  spun,  extending 


KiG.  162.    Snare  and  nesting  tube 
of  Dysdera  bicolor. 


Dysdera 
bicolor. 


^  Mem.  des  Insect.,  Tom.  VII.,  plate  xviii.,  Figs.  8-9.        ^  Idem,  page  268,  pi.  15,  Fig.  16. 
*  Ariadne  bicolor  Emerton,  Xew  England  Drassidse,  page  38. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF    SPIDEKS. 


135 


Fio.  163.    Female  Se- 
gestria  canities. 


inward  for  two  inches  and  more.  The  silk  of  the  tube  was  fine,  but  the 
flap  of  netted  work  by  whicli  it  was  attached  to  either  side  was  of  coarser 
fibre.  (See  Fig.  162.)  The  tubes  were  spun  all  the  way 
up  the  fissure  to  the  fork  of  the  trunk. 

The  spiders  watch  near  the  orifice  of  their  tubes  with 
the  first  three  pairs  of  legs  directed  forward,  an  unusual 
position,  as  spiders  usually  have  only  the  first  two  pairs 
tlirust  outward. 

The  cocoon,  containing  twenty  or  thirty  eggs,  is  placed 
within   the  inner  part   of   the  tube   in   .July  and  August. 
Emerton  ^    saw   one   in   this   position   July  10th,  and   an- 
other under  a  stone  with  a  cocoon  containing  thirty-four 
eggs.     The  English  Dysdera  hombergii  spins  her  egg  sac 
within  her  tube  in  June ;  it  is  an  oval  cell,  within  which 
are  from  twenty  to  thirty  pinkish  eggs  loosely  bound  together.     The  cell  is 
slightly  woven,  and  is   covered  with  particles  of  gravel  or  other  extraneous 
matter.     It  thus   appears  that  the   cocooning  habits  of   the   genus   as   rep- 
resented in  Europe  are  the  same  as  those  of  our  American  species. 

In  material  sent   me  from  San  Bernardino,  California,  by  Mr.  Wright, 

were  cocooning   nests   of   a   peculiar   type  made  by  a  species  of   Segestria, 

which   appears   to    be   new,  and   which   I   have  named    Segestria 

eg-es  ria  ^.g^j^j^jgg      (Fig.   163.)      The   species   was   determined   from   young 

spiders  found  enclosed  in  some  of  the  cocoons.     Subsequently,  I 

received    from    the    same    section,    through    Mrs.    Eigenmann,   two    mature 

females,  which   enabled    me    to    confirm    my    previous    determination,  and 

thus  to   identify   the    cocoons   which    are    here    described.     The    species    is 

shown  at  Fig.   163,  and  a  view  of  the  face  at  Fig.  164.  ^ 

The  mother  Segestria  spins  a  series  of  flattened  disks,  which  are  over- 
laid one  upon  another  like  tiles  upon  a  roof,  and  are  bound  by  silken 
threads  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  Epeira  labyrin- 
th ea's  cocoons.  This  series  of  cocoons  is  sometimes  three 
inches  or  more  in  length.  The  examples  sent  me  were 
covered  (apparently  intentionally)  with  leaves,  from  the 
plant  upon  which  the  string  had  been  suspended,  resem- 
bling the  leaves  of  spruce  or  hemlock.  Along  the  entire 
length  of  one  side  of  the  cocoon  string  the  mother 
had  spun  a  silken  tube,  within  which  she  dwelt.  The 
manner  in  which  the  string  is  suspended  is  represented 
in  Fig.  165.     It  hangs  within  a  maze  of   intersecting  cross  lines  like  the 


Fio.  164.  View  of  eyes 
and  face  of  Segestria 
canities. 


'  Notes,  Hentz's  Spiders  I^.  S.,  page  22. 

^  The  spider  is  about  three-eighths  inch  long;  the  cephalothorax  brown,  the  abdomen 
brownish  yellow  covered  thickly  with  white  hairs,  which  also  strongly  mark  the  cephalo- 
thorax, suggesting  its  specific  name.  The  legs  are  yellow,  with  brown  rings  at  the  joints 
and  a  similar  ring  in  the  middle  of  the  tibia. 


136 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


Fig,  167. 


Fig.  168. 


Fig.  165. 


Fig.  166. 


Fig.  165.  Cocoon  string  of  Segestria  canities,  with  domicile  tube  alongside.  Fig.  166.  The  same, 
side  view,  and  cocoons  covered  with  leaves.  Fig.  167.  Cocoons  of  wall  loving  Dictyna  within  a 
sewed  leaf    (Natural  size.)       Fig.  168.    The  same,  snare  and  cocoons  on  inside  of  leaf. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OP   SPIDERS.  137 


webs  of  Lineweavers ;  is  attached  above  to  a  strong  thread,  and  is  stayed 
and  balanced  by  various  guy  lines  along  the  entire  length.  On  opening 
the  several  cocoons  of  one  of  these  strings  I  found  (in  one  of  twelve  co- 
coons) the  first  seven  contained  only  the  first  moults  or  shells  of  the  escaped 
spiders;  the  next  three,  young  spiders  in  successive  degrees  of  advanced 
growth  ;   and  the  last  two,  eggs  alone. 

The  exterior  case  of  the  cocoons  is  a  light  straw  color  or  creamy  white. 
It  is  made  of  two  saucer  shaped  j)ieces  well  woven  together  at  the  edges, 
and  is  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Fig.  166  gives  a  side 
view  of  a  cocoon  string,  showing  the  way  in  which  the  cocoons  overlap  one 
another. 

Dictyna  usually  makes  several  cocoons,  small  flattened  globes  of  pure 
white,  about  one-eighth  inch  diameter,  which  are  placed  within  the  snare, 
usually  grouped  near  one  of  circular  doors  on  which  the  web 
lines  converge.  (See  Vol.  I.,  page  349.)  When  she  spins  her 
web  along  a  brick  wall  or  like  surface,  the  cocoons  are  fastened  to  the  wall, 
arranged  along  the  angle  or  clustered  together  loosely.  When  the  spider 
makes  her  snare  within  a  leaf,  as  she  frequently  does,  the  cocoons  are 
placed  upon  the  leaf,  protected,  of  course,  by  the  enclosing  cross  lines. 
The  mother  is  found  near  her  cocoons,  though  apparently  not  exercising 
any  special  vigil  upon  them.  She  simply  lays  her  eggs  in  the  position 
most  convenient  to  herself.  The  edges  of  the  leaf  are  sometimes  drawn 
well  together  (Fig.  167)  and  sewed  in  the  prevailing  aranead  style;  but 
more  frequently  the  edges  of  the  leaves  are  simply  bent  over  by  silken 
lashings  as  in  Fig.  168.  This  cut  is  drawn  from  a  sketch  made  on  the 
grounds  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  Washington. 

III. 

Of  the  typical  cocoons  of  the  Territelarise  we  may  speak  with  some 
positiveness ;  but  the  number  of  species  whose  cocoons  are  known  is  small. 
.  However,    it   is   highly   probable   that    the   variety   of    form   and 

telariee  method  of  suspension  and  care  is  not  great,  and  we  may  per- 
haps conclude  that  we  possess  a  good  knowledge  of  the  general 
cocooning  habit  of  the  tribe. 

Mr.  Enock  determined  the  position  in  which  the  mother  Atypus  piceus 
spins  her  cocoon.  In  a  tube  ten  inches  long  and  from  a  half  to  five- 
eighths  inch  in  diameter  he  found  that  about  six  and  a  half  inches  below 
the  surface  the  tunnel  widened  into  a  sort  of  pouch.  On  opening  this  he 
saw  the  mother's  cocoon  suspended  in  a  beautiful  hammock  of  silk  one 
inch  long,  the  flat  ends  of  which  were  about  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch 
wide,  and  were  attached  to  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  pouch. ^ 

This  description  entirely  corresponds  with  that  previously  recorded  by 

^  Life  History  of  Atypus  piceus,  Trans.  Ent.  Soc.  Lond.,  1885,  page  394. 


138 


AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 


M.  Eugene  Simon  ^  and  by  Mr.  Pickard-Cambridge.  ^     Mr.  Simon  has  made 
a  drawing  of  the  cocoon  as  found  by  him  in  natural  site,  which 
ypus      J  reproduce  from  the   paper  just  quoted.     The    earth    is   therein 
shown  dug  away  to  disclose  the  burrow,  and  the  projecting  tube 
is  seen   as   laid   along  the  surface.     (See  Fig.  169.)     Instead   of   the   ham- 
mock which  Enock  describes,  Mr.   Simon  says  that   a   number  of  threads 
are  used  to  suspend   the   cocoon  in  the  throat  of  the  enlargement  of  the 

burrow. 

Mr.  Enock  found  the  male  of  Aty- 
pus  piceus  in  the  tubular  nest  of  the 
female  October  15th,  and  again  Octo- 
ber 20th,  but  the  fertilization  must 
have  occurred  earlier,  for  the  same 
writer,  on  August  1st  and  again  on 
September  1st,  found  the  cocoons  con- 
taining eggs,  and  during  the  months 
of  September  and  October  the  young 
were  already  found  hatched.  Accord- 
ing to  this  observer,  the  number  of 
eggs  in  the  cocoon  of  Atypus  piceus 
was  usually  over  a  hundred.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  he  counted  the  number 
of  young  living  with  a  single  female, 
the  sum  always  exceeding  one  hun- 
dred, and  sometimes  as  high  as  one 
hundred  and  fifty-seven.^  Blackwall, 
however,  states  that  the  mother  Aty- 
pus deposits  between  thirty  and  forty 
eggs,*  but  in  view  of  the  particular 
and  definite  statements  of  Mr.  Enock 
we  must  conclude  that  this  is  a  mis- 
take. 

Abbot's   Atypus   of   Florida  no  doubt  protects  her   egg  sac  in  the  same 

,       maimer  as  Atypus  piceus,  since,  according  to  Abbot's  note,  as  re- 

Atvnus      corded   by  Baron  Walckenaer,-^    and   which    I   have   read   in  the 

original  manuscript,  the  young   are  found,  like  the  offspring  of 

Lycosids,  domiciled  on  the  back  of  the"  mother  after  they  are  hatched.'' 


Fig.  169.    The  cocoon  of  Atypus  piceus,  suspend- 
ed within  her  tunnel.    (After  Simon.) 


^  Annals  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  France,  fifth  series,  Tom.  III.,  1874,  page  114 
and  pi.  4. 

^  Spiders  of  Dorset,  page  xxxiii..  Introduction.  •'  Op.  cit.,  page  392. 

*  Spiders  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  page  15. 

'  Hist.  Nat.  des  Insectes,  Apteres,  Vol.  I.,  page  248. 

"  McCook,  "  Nesting  Habits  of  the  American  Purseweb  Spider,"  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1888,  page  213. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


139 


KL^T"^ 


That  accomplished  French  arachnologist,  M.  Eugene  Simon,  has  recently 
added  largely  to  our  knowledge  of  this  interesting  tribe.  A  visit  to  South 
America  enabled  him  to  make  personal  studies  of  trapdoor  nests, 
_,  ,  and  these  have  happily  found  expression  in  admirably  drawn 
Spiders  pl^tes,  some  of  whose  figures  I  have  ventured  to  redraw  for  these 
pages.  Rhytidicolus  structor  is  a  common  species  in  Venezuela, 
particularly  upon  the  slopes  of  compact  and  sandy  ground.  Its  burrow  is 
the  most  complex  that  Simon  observed.  It  is  composed  of  three  successive 
spacious  chambers,  communicating  one  with  another  by  straight  openings, 
which  close  by  a  hinged  door. 

The  first  chamber  is  largely  dilated  in  the  form  of  a  pear,  but  quite 
contracted  at  the  two  extremities.  (See  Fig.  170.)  The  second  chamber  is 
more  or  less  cylindrical,  and  termi- 
nates in  a  cul  de  sac.  The  third 
chamber  communicates  with  the  sec- 
ond, not  by  its  extremity,  but  upon 
the  side,  which  is  dilated  and  oval, 
like  the  first,  and  rounded  at  the  bot- 
tom. The  walls  of  the  entire  burrow 
are  perfectly  built,  very  smooth,  and 
draped  with  a  white  tissue,  light, 
transparent,  and  adhering.  The  three 
doors  are  almost  alike.  They  are 
thick,  cut  like  a  stopple  upon  the  edge, 
and  penetrate  within  the  opening, 
which  is  itself  slightly  widened  and  a 
little  prolonged  beyond  the  surface. 
They  are  semicircular,  and  cut  in  a 
straight  line  on  the  side  of  the  hinge. 
Their  superior  faces  are  rough,  like 
the  adjoining  soil,  even  with  the  in- 
side doors ;  sometimes  at  an  external 
opening  the  doors  are  a  little  swollen, 
and  very  unequal,  but  always  slightly  concave  on  the  internal  doors.  The 
internal  faces  of  the  doors  are  convex,  and  have  a  silk  drapery  like  that 
of  the  walls.  On  the  edge  of  the  bevel  are  small  holes  for  the  attachment 
of  the  claws  when  the  trap  is  to  be  held  down,  and  these  are  more  distinct 
on  the  entrance  door.  This  swings  naturally  from  within  to  the  out- 
side. The  second  door  opens,  on  the  contrary,  from  the  outside  inwardly 
in  such  manner  that  in  the  first  chamber  the  two  doors  show  the  inter- 
nal faces  equally  smooth.  The  arrangement  of  these  doors  is  shown  in 
the  figure. 

The  female  deposits  her  eggs  in  the  first  chamber ;  they  are  not  agglu- 
tinated, and  are  enveloped  in  a  cocoon  of  white,  opaque  tissue,  much  longer 


Fig.  170.  Section  in  the  earth,  showing  trapdoor 
nest  of  the  female  Rhytidicolus  structor.  (After 
Simon.)  Fig.  171.  Outline  of  first  chamber  of 
Rhytidicolus  structor,  to  show  location  of  cocoon. 


140 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Burrow 
and  Co- 
coon of 
Psalis- 
tops. 


than  large,  and  are  suspended  obliquely,  like  a  hammock,  between  the  op- 
posite walls,  as  shown  in  the  outline  sketch,  Fig.  171. 

Among  the  Venezuelan  Avicularidse  Simon  discovered  and  describes  an 
interesting  species,  which  he  names  Psalistops  melanophygia.  It  is  a  com- 
mon species  in  the  neighborhood  of  Caracas,  particularly  in  the 
forest  of  Catuche,  It  digs  a  burrow  in  the  ground  six  or  seven 
inches  in  depth,  garnished  toward  the  top  with  a  silken  lining 
slightly  adherent.  The  burrow  is  quite  straight  in  the  upper 
part,  from  which  proceeds  a  simple  branch,  straight  and  quite 
long,  cutting  the  main  entrance  at  an  acute  angle,  and  mount- 
ing near  to  the  surface  of  the  earth.     (See  Fig.  172.)     Below  the  point  at 

which  this  side  branch  enters,  the  main 
burrow  is  much  enlarged  and  more  or  less 
curved  towards  the  bottom.  From  this 
point  also  it  is  destitute  of  a  silken  lining. 
The  opening  to  the  burrow  is  with- 
out a  trapdoor.  It  is  slightly  •  elevated 
above  the  surface,  where  it  is  always  gar- 
nished by  a  collarette  of  dry  leaves  or 
any  other  sort  of  debris  retained  within 
the  threads.  The  eggs,  which  were  ob- 
served on  the  12th  of  January,  are  not 
agglutinated.  They  are  enveloped  in  a 
simple  cocoon  of  cottony  tissue,  white  and 
opaque;  are  placed  near  the  bottom  of 
the  burrow,  and  suspended  from  one  of 
the  walls  by  a  very  short  pedicle  or 
stalk.  1     (See  Fig.  172.) 

A  large  female  Tarantula,  probably 
Eurypelma  hentzii,  or  a  closely  related 
species,  was  sent  to  me  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  arrived  at  the  Academy  dur- 
ing a  prolonged  absence.  She  died  be- 
fore my  return,  and  was  preserved  in 
spirits ;  but  afforded  me  an  opportunity, 
which  I  had  long  desired,  of  determining  the  egg  cocoon  made  by  this  family 
of  the  Theraphosoidee.  While  cleaning  out  the  box  in  which 
she  had  been  sent  I  observed  a  piece  of  spinningwork  within, 
which  proved  to  be  an  abandoned  cocoon.  When  inflated  it 
showed  a  hollow  spheroid  composed  of  thick  silken  cloth,  somewhat  soiled 
on  the  outside,  but  within  clean  and  white.  It  measured  two  inches  along 
the  longer  axis  and  one  and   one-fourth   inch   along  the  shorter  one.     It 


Fig.  172.  The  burrow  of  Psalistops  melano- 
phygia, showing  the  cocoon  suspended  at 
the  bottom.    (After  Simon.) 


Tarantula 
Cocoon. 


^  Simon,  Arachnides  de  Venezuela,  page  197,  plate  3,  Fig.  1. 


GENERAL   COCOONING  HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


141 


was  empty  of  young,  whose  first  moults,  however,  were  within  the  cocoon, 
as  were  also  a  few  unhatched  eggs,  which  are  yellowish  spheres  three  mil- 
limeters in  diameter.  Three  small  openings  in  the  case  showed  where  the 
spiderlings  had  escaped.  Both  cocoon  and  eggs  are  shown  natural  size  in 
the  accompanying  figure.     (Fig.  173.) 

The  interior  of  this  cocoon  was  without  any  flossy  lining  or  padding, 
resembling  thus  the  egg  sac  of  the  Lycosidse  generally.  A  curious  flap 
overlapped  the  cocoon  at  one  side,  whose  use  I  could  not  conjecture,  unless 
it  may  have  served  to  attach  the  object  to  the  mother's  body,  or  suspend 
it  within  her  burrow ;  or  perhaps  it  was  simply  a  remnant  of  material 
which  had  remained  after  the  eggs  were  rolled  up  within  the  silken  rug 
upon  which  they  are  proba- 
bly deposited  after  the  man-  WJJIiUll  llil  ItiillMIHttllMNlWllP^ulllillllilUm^^ 
ner  which  I  have  shown  to 
exist  in  the  genus  Lycosa.^ 

The  janitor  who  received 
the  box  containing  this  spi- 
der and  placed  it  in  my 
room  was  at  the  time  new 
in  his  position,  and  did  not 
understand  the  importance  of 

observing   all  the 
Mode  of  11         •      ii 

Carrying.  Particulars  m  the 
habits  of  living 
creatures  sent  to  the  Acad- 
emy. He  therefore  failed  to 
make  any  notes,  but  told 
me,  when  questioned,  that 
he  believed  the  cocoon  was 
attached  to  the  lower  part 
of  the  spider's  body  when 
it  arrived.  No  doubt  this 
is  a  correct  observation,  and  we  may  assume  with  some  degree  of  certainty 
that  the  large  egg  sac  of  the  Theraposids  is  carried  by  the  mother,  lashed 
to  the  spinnerets  at  the  apex  of  the  abdomen,  precisely  as  in  the  case  of 
Lycosids,  whose  well  known  habit  is  familiar  to  every  frequenter  of  our 
fields. 

This  cocoon  is  exhibited  in  my  collection  of  aranead  architecture  de- 
posited in  the  Philadelphia  Academy,  and  is  the  only  one,  as  far  as  I 
have  been  able  to  learn,  exhibited  in  any  similar  institution.  A  second 
specimen  in  my  possession  is  similar  to  this,  except  that  the  silken  sac  is 


Pig.  173.    Cocoon  and  eggs  of  the  Tarantula  (Mygale). 
Natural  size. 


^  See  Proceedings  Academy  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  1884,  page  138,  my  note  on 
"  How  Lycosa  fabricates  her  round  Cocoon." 


142  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  much  more  delicate  tissue,  it  probably  having  been  made  in  confine- 
ment. Termeyer  speaks  of  cocoons  of  the  Mygalidse  of  South  America 
("Aranea  avicularia")  even  greater  than  the  above.  They  are  three  inches 
long  by  one  wide,  and  are  placed  in  the  fissures  on  trunks  of  trees.  They 
contain  thousands  of  eggs.  This  extraordinary  size  of  the  cocoon  had  made 
the  inhabitants,  who  do  not  observe  carefully,  imagine  that  this 
spider  would  take  the  cocoon  of  "  the  bombice  moth,  del  Guyavo 
(Janus,  Linn.),"  and,  having  destroyed  or  eaten  the  chrysalis,  would  place  her 
own  eggs  therein,  and  then  artificially  close  the  hole  by  which  she  had  pene- 
trated it.  One  of  these  cocoons  weighs  as  much  as  six  cocoons  of  the  silk 
worm  before  they  are  washed,  and  as  much  as  three  or  four  after  having 
been  washed.  ^ 

In  San  Domingo,  according  to  Palissot  de  Beauvois,  Mygale  blondii  is 
found  in  the  fields,  where  it  prepares  a  hole  in  which  it  awaits  its  prey. 
It  does  not  confine  itself  to  this  manner  of  providing  its  food,  but  issues 
forth  evening  and  morning,  climbs  up  trees,  and,  penetrating  into  the  nests 
of  small  birds,  sucks  their  eggs  or  the  blood  of  their  little  ones.  The 
female's  cocoon  is  the  size  of  a  pigeon  egg.^ 

Walckenaer  describes  the  cocoon  of  Mygale  avicularia  as  composed  of 

three  silken  envelopes,  of  which  the  middle  one  is  thinner,  and 

"^^^-^  .    does    not    contain    a    silken    padding.     The    female    places    her 
avicularia  . 

cocoon  near  her  tubular  dwelling,  and  watches  it  assiduously. 

M.  Moreau  de  Joannes,  as  quoted  by  Baron  Walckenaer,  says  that  the 
female  of  this  species  in  Cayenne  envelopes,  in  a  cocoon  of  white  silk,  her 
eggs,  to  the  number  of  eighteen  hundred  or  two  thousand.  He  observes 
that  the  red  ants  eat  the  little  Mygalidse  when  they  issue  from  the  cocoon. 
M.  Guerin  had  in  his  collection  a.  cocoon  of  this  Mygale  which  was  covered 
over  with  a  multitude  of  very  small  parasitic  Cynips.  This  cocoon  was  flat- 
tened, rounded,  and  about  three  inches  in  diameter.  It  was  opened  in  the 
presence  of  Walckenaer,  and  the  young  spiders  were  found  enclosed  therein.^ 

Madame  Merian,  who  first  recorded  a  report  that  the  Theraphosoidse  prey 
upon  small  birds,  must  have  observed  the  cocoon  of  these  spiders,  as  it 
seems  to  me.  She  indeed  speaks  of  them  as  having  their  domicile  in  a 
large  round  nest  resembling  the  cocoon  of  a  caterpillar ;  but  the  plate  to 
which  she  refers  is  a  fairly  accurate  figure  of  a  female  tarantula  with  a 
large  oval  cocoon  attached  to  her  abdomen,  in  the  way  usual  to  Lycosids.^ 
I  have  the  opinion  that  the  egg  cocoon  of  the  spider  was  mistaken  by 
Mademoiselle  Merian  or  her  informants  for  a  "domicile." 


*  Communications  Essex  Institute,  Vol.  V.,  186(5-67,  page  61.  "  Researches  and  Experi- 
ments upon  Silk  from  Spiders  and  upon  their  Reproductions,  by  Raymond  Maria  de  Ter- 
meyer."   Translated  from  the  Italian,  and  revised  by  Burt  G.  Wilder. 

2  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  Vol.  II.,  page  211.  ^  Apteres,  I.,  218. 

*  Desertation  sur  la  Generation  et  les  Transformations  des  Insects  de  Surinam.,  Maria; 
Sibillfe  Merian.     A  la  Haye,  MDCCXXVI.     Fig.  18  and  explication. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF    SPIDEKS.  143 


At  all  events  we  may  consider  it  fairly  well  assured  that,  in  her  cocoon- 
ing  habits,  the  female  Tarantula  throughout  most,  or  perhaps  all,  species, 
closely  resembles  the  Lycosidse,  and  the  resemblance  probably  ex- 
tends to  all  the  Territelariae.  In  other  words,  the  Theraphosid 
cocoon  is,  first,  round  or  ovoid ;  second,  is  carried  about  with  the  mother, 
attached  to  her  body,  or  kept  under  her  care;  and,  third,  the  young  for  a 
period  longer  or  shorter  remain  with  their  mother.  The  affinity  between 
these  two  great  groups  of  araneads  is  also  marked  in  their  nesting  habits ; 
both  burrow  into  the  ground  a  cylindrical  tunnel  or  shaft,  within  which 
they  domicile,  sometimes  lining  it  more  or  less  completely  with  silk. 

IV. 

Passing   now  into   the   group   of    Wandering   spiders,   we   reach  the  co- 
coonery of  the    Citigrades,  and   here   find   little   variety  in    structure,  with 
scarcely  an  exception.    The  cocoons  of  this 
tribe  are  round  balls  without  any  interior 
furnishing,  which  are  carried  by  the  moth- 
er within  her  jaws,  as  in  the  case  of  Dol- 
omedes,   or    lashed    to    the    spinnerets,   as 
with  the  Lycosids  and  most  other  species. 
(Fig.  174.)     The  manner  in  which  the  co- 
coon     is     made     has     been     quite     fully    de-    Fkv.  174.     Lycosa  carrying  her  round  cocoon 
scribed    by   myself.  '  '^'""'^  *°  ""''  spinnerets. 

While  walking  in  the  suburbs  of  Philadelphia,  I  found  under  a  stone 
a  female  Lycosa  (probably  L.  riparia  Hentz),-  which  I  placed   in  a  jar  on 

dry  earth.  For  two  days  the  spider  remained  on  the  surface 
Lycosa's  nearly  inactive.  The  earth  was  then  moistened,  whereupon 
p  (May  2d)  she  immediately  began   digging,  continuing    until  she 

ing  ^^^  made  a  cavity  about  one  inch  in  depth    and   height.     The 

top  was  then  carefully  overlaid  with  a  tolerably  closely  woven 
sheet  of  white  spinningwork,  so  th8,t  the  spider  was  entirely  shut  in.  This 
cover  she  fortunately  made  against  the  glass  side  of  the  jar,  and  the  move- 
ments of  the  inmate  were  thus  exposed  to  view.  Shortly  after  the  cave 
was  covered  the  spider  was  seen  working  upon  a  circular  cushion  of 
white  silk,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  which  was  spun 
upwards  in  a  nearly  perpendicular  position  against  the  earthen  wall  of 
the  cave.  The  cushion  looked  so  much  like  the  work  of  Agalena  nsevia, 
and  the  whole  operations  of  the  Lycosa  were  so  like  those  of  that  spider 
when  cocooning,  that  I  was  momentarily  possessed  with  the  thought  that 
I  had  mistaken  the  identity  altogether,  and  again  examined  her  carefully, 
only  to  be  sure  that  she  was  indeed  a  Lycosid. 

^"How  Lycosa  fabricates  her  round  cocoon."  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1884, 
page  138. 


144 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


After  an  absence  of  a  half  hour  I  returned  to  find  that  in  the  interval 
the  spider  had  oviposited  upon  the  central  part  of  the  cushion,  and  was 
then  engaged  in  covering  the  hemispherical  egg  mass  with  a  silken 
envelope,  working  like  a  mason  spreading  mortar  with  a  trowel. 

Unluckily,  at  this  stage  of  work  I  had  to  leave  for  an  imperative  en- 
gagement, and  did  not  see  my  spider  again  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  when 
I  was  delighted  to  find  a  round  silken  ball  dangling  from  the 
th^^^^f  ^P^^  ^^  ^^^  abdomen,  held  fast  by  short  threads  to  the  spin- 
nerets. The  cushion,  however,  had  disappeared.  It  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  explain  the  intervening  process.  Within  this  circular  cushion  the 
eggs  are  deposited,  after  which  act  the  spider  proceeds  to  pull  the  edges  of 
the  cushion  together  until  the  whole  is  rolled  around  the  egg  mass,  after 
the  fashion  of  a  schoolboy  putting  a  leathern  covering  on  a  yarn  ball.  This 
done,  the  mother  goes  over  the  exterior  of  the  ball,  and  spreads  upon  it  an 
outer  layer  of   spinningwork,  which   is  woven  in  the   same  manner  as  the 


Fig.  176. 


Fig.  175.  The  cocooning  burrow  of  Lycosa  saccata,  made  underneath  a  stone.  The  walls  of  mingled  silk 
and  soil.  This  figure  shows  the  nest  as  exposed  when  the  stone  was  removed.  Fig.  176.  The  stone 
under  which  the  burrow  of  Fig.  175  was  made.    The  under  part  of  the  stone  is  shown  turned  upward. 

original  cushion.  Thereupon  she  attaches  it  to  her  spinnerets,  where  it  is 
carried  until  the  young  are  hatched.  I  had  often  wondered  how  the  round 
egg  ball  of  the  Lycosid  was  put  together*  and  the  mechanical  ingenuity  and 
simplicity  of  the  method  were  now  apparent.  The  period  consumed  in 
the  whole  act  of  cocooning  was  less  than  four  hours,  and  the  act  of  ovi- 
positing took  less  than  half  an  hour.  Shortly  after  the  egg  sac  was  fin- 
ished the  mother  cut  her  way  out  of  the  silken  cover  woven  over  her 
little  cavern.  She  had  evidently  thus  secluded  herself  for  the  purpose  of 
spinning  her  cocoon.  This  was  in  accord  with  a  firmly  fixed  habit  of  the 
Lycosids  to  exclude  themselves,  before  making  their  cocoons,  in  a  burrow 
or  cave  which  they  form  in  the  ground.  This  is  often  made  under  a  stone 
and  is  protected  on  the  sides  by  a  plastered  wall  of  mud,  and  above  against 
the  stone  by  a  piece  of  spinningwork  which  thus  forms  an  upholstered 
roof  to  this  pretty,  cavernous  home.  An  approach  to  the  cave  is  cut,  which 
often  debouches  among  the  grasses,  clumps  of  clover,  mosses,  or  wild  flow- 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


145 


146 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


ers,  that  give  a  touch  of  natural  beauty  to  the  gateway.  One  of  these 
Lycosid  cocooning  caves  is  shown  at  Figs.  175  and  176.  It  was  made  be- 
neath a  stone,  and  when  that  was  lifted  up  the  spider,  Lycosa  saccata, 
showed  within  as  at  Fig.  175.  The  roof  of  her  den  was  broken  off  by 
lifting  and  is  shown  in  inverted  position  at  Fig.  176.  The  use  of  this 
special  cocooning  den  is  common  with  Lycosids ;  but  some  species,  and 
probably  all  at  times,  live  within  the  home  burrow  while  carrying  their 
cocoons.  This  is  the  habit  of  Lycosa  arenicola,  which  may  often  be  seen 
on  her  turret  with  her  egg  ball  at  her  spinnerets.  (See  Vol.  I.,  page  314, 
Fig.  289.) 

There  is  no  flossy  wadding  within  the  cocoon  case  of  Lycosids,  as  is 
common  with  Orbweaving  spiders.  Indeed,  such  a  provision  for  the  com- 
fort and  safety  of  the  brood  appears  wholly  unnecessary  in  the  case  of 
younglings  whose  egg  life  is  so  brief,  and  of  a  mother  who  carries  her 
young  about  with  her,  and  thus  gives  them  the  advantage  of  her  personal 
protection  and  care.  The  Orbweaving  mother  generally  dies  within  a  few 
days  after  ovipositing.  Personal  protection  of  her  offspring  is  therefore  im- 
possible, and  the  period  of  development  is  often  greatly  prolonged.  Nature 
has  taught  her  to  provide  for  them  the  necessary  covering  of  a  warm,  flossy, 
silken  blanket  beneath  which  they  may  outlive  the  changes  of  weather. 

In  the  case  of  Dolomedes,  the  cocoon  is  carried  by  the  mother  until 
shortly  before  the  period  of   hatching,  when  it  is  generally  deposited  within 

a  pretty  nest  composed  of  leaves 
drawn  together  and  lashed  at  the 
edges  into  the  form  of  a  tent. 
(See  Fig.  177;  also  Vol.  I.,  Fig. 
339.)  Within  this  a  mass  of  in- 
tersecting lines  is  spun,  upon 
which  the  cocoon  is  hung.  After 
hatching  the  spiderlings  occupy 
the  temporary  home  thus  provid- 
ed for  them,  and  hang"  in  clusters 
or  individuals  upon  the  intersecting  lines. 

Dolomedes  differs  from  Lycosa  in  the  mode  of  deporting  her  cocoon, 
suspending  it  beneath  the  abdomen  and  sternum,  so  that  it  is  surrounded 
by  the  legs.  (Fig.  178.)  When  walking,  the  mother  Dolomede  must 
straighten  out  her  legs  as  much  as  possible,  and  carry  her  body  high. 
(Figs.  178,  179.)  The  cocooning  habits  of  the  English  Dolomedes  mira- 
bilis  differ  in  no  particular  from  those  of  our  American  species.  She  car- 
ries her  cocoon,  which  is  large,  globular,  and  of  a  dull  yellowish  color, 
attached  to  her  body  during  all  her  hunting  expeditions,  until  the  time 
approaches  for  the  hatching  of  the  eggs.  She  then  weaves  a  sheet  of 
close,  fine  silk  upon  grasses  or  the  branches  of  bushes,  forming  a  dome,  of 
which  these  supply  the  rafters. 


Fig.  178.    Dolomedes  sexpunctatus  carrying  her  cocoon. 


GENERAL  COCOONING   HABITS  OF   SPIDERS. 


147 


Pucetia 
aurora. 


Among  the  Citigrades,  Pucetia  aurora  has  a  special  interest,  both  from  its 
appearance  and  structure  and  from  the  pecuharity  of  its  cocooning  habit. 
This  spider  was  received  in  collections  sent  me  by  Mr.  W.  G. 
Wright,  of  San  Bernardino,  California.  Numerous  specimens  of 
young  and  old  were  subsequently  sent  by  Mrs.  Eigenmann  and 
others  from  the  same  locality.  The  genus  Pucetia  belongs  to  the  family 
Oxyopoidse  of  the  Citigrade  spiders,  to  which  it  is  doubtless  relegated  in 
spite  of  certain  analogies  with  the  Satigrades  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
Laterigrades  (Philodrominae)  on  the  other.  ^  Mr.  Wright  describes  the 
specimens  sent  me  as  jumping  spiders;  and  Hentz,  who  describes  several 
species  under  the  generic  name  of  Oxyopes,  says  that  Oxyopes  salticus  leaps 
with  more  force  than  Attus.  This  family  is  arboreal  in  habit ;  the  spiders 
are  found  on  plants,  with  their  legs  extended,  thus  practicing  Tetragnatha's 
form  of  mimicry,  and  thence  spring- 


FiG.  179.    English  Dolomedes  mirabilis  carrying 
her  cocoon.    (After  Blackwall.) 


ing  upon  their  prey.  The  female's 
cocoon  is  usually  conical,  surrounded 
with  points,  placed  in  a  tent  made 
between  leaves  drawn  together  and 
lashed,  and  is  sometimes  of  a  pale 
greenish  color.  Oxyopes  viridens 
will  make  a  cocoon  suspended  mid- 
way by  threads  attached  to  these  ex- 
ternal prominences,  and  this  she  will 
watch  constantly  from  a  neighboring 
site.  Hentz  also  thought  that  the 
mother  of  this  species  carries  its 
young  like  a  Lycosa,^ 

Pucetia  aurora  appears  to  be  a  new  species.^  The  body  length  is  four- 
teen millimetres ;  the  legs  are  long  and  tapering,  except  among  the  young. 
The  body  is  yellow  and  pale  yellow ;  the  cephalothorax  striped  longitudi- 
nally with  bright  red  streaks ;  the  abdomen  marked  above  with  red  streaks ; 
the  sternum  is  red ;  the  legs  are  yellow,  with  red  rings  at  the  joints. 
These  red  streaks  upon  the  yellow  background  suggested  the  specific  name 
of  "aurora." 

The  cocoon  nests,  according  to  Mr.  Wright,  are  uniformly  placed  upon 
bushes  of  Erigonum  corymbosum.  They  are  hung  from  three  to  four 
feet  above  the  ground,  and,  being  upon  the  topmost  twigs  of  the  plant, 
are  easily  seen  from  a  distance.  The  cocoons,  received  by  me  in  consider- 
able number,  are  straw  colored  spheres  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
They  are  covered  externally  with  various  pointed  rugosities,  from  which 
numerous  lines  extend   to  the  adjoining  corymb  of  the  plant  upon  which 


^  Thorell,  On  European  Spiders,  page  19().  ^  Si)iders  of  tlie  United  States,  page  48. 

^  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  1883,  page  276,  "Notes  on  two  new  California  Spiders." 


148 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


>^y.- 


all  the  specimens  sent  are  attached.  (Fig.  180.)  The  retitelarian  snare 
which  surrounds  the  whole  doubtless  serves  as  a  temporary  home  for  the 
young  spiders.  The  cocoon  has  no  suture,  and  the  spiderlings  escape  by 
cutting  the  case,  which  is  thick  and  closely  woven.     No  flossy  padding  was 

found  inside  of  the  case.  (Fig.  181.)  The 
cocoon  thus  resembles  that  made  by  Cit- 
igrades  generally. 

A  fine,  large  species  of  Ctenus  from 
Central  America,  sent  to  me  by  Mr. 
Samuel  H.  Scudder,  carried  its  cocoon. 
^).^  This  was  a  large  object,  one  inch  and  a 
hy  quarter  long,  constructed  in  the  ordinary 
manner  of  Lycosid  cocoons,  but  differ- 
ing somewhat  in  shape,  being  globular 
instead  of  hemispherical.  The  mother 
carried  it  for  some  time  after  she  came 
to  me,  and  then  fastened  it  by  threads, 
in  hammock  fashion,  to  the  side  of  the 
box  wherein  she  was  confined.  Shortly 
thereafter  a  large  brood  of  spiderlings 
appeared,  spread  themselves  over  my  lab- 
oratory table,  covering  the  books  and 
other  objects  thereon  with  a  sheet  of  fine 
spinningwork.  They  finally  built  upward 
a  huge  bridge  like  structure,  a  sort  of 
aranead  Eiffel  Tower,  which  touched  the 
ceiling  above  the  table,  and  at  another 
point  diverged  to  the  laboratory  window. 
Some  further  account  of  this  brood,  with 
a  figure  of  their  bridge  at  a  certain 
stage,  will  be  found  in  the  subsequent 
chapter  on  Cocoon  Life  and  Babyhood. 


V. 


Fig.  180.  Duplex  cocoons  of  Pucetia  aurora,  woven 
among  the  blossoms  of  Erigonum  corymbosum. 


Among  Saltigrades  the  cocoons  close- 
ly resemble  those  of  many  of  the  genus 
Epeira.  They  are  spun  against  some  surface,  as  that  of  a  rock  or 
tree,  the  eggs  being  overlaid  by  a  thick  blanket  of  white  spinningwork. 
Over  this  again  is  stretched  a  tent  or  cell  of  lighter  structure,  although 
still  of  close  and  somewhat  adhesive  texture,  "but  not  so  thick  as  to  pre- 
vent the  cocoon  from  being  seen  through  it.  The  eggs  are  heaped  in  a 
hemispherical  mass,  and  are  of  a  pinkish  or  light  rose  color.  In  the  case 
of  Phidippus  morsitans  the  cocoon  is  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.     The  spider  dwells  within  her   cell,  and  of  course   close 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OP   SPIDERS. 


149 


Fig.  181.    Cocoon  of  Pucetia  aurora,  opened 
to  show  structure. 


by  her  cocoon.  The  outer  covering  of  the  eggs  is  quite  thick,  very  white, 
and  apparently  a  little  viscid;  at  least,  it  is  quite  adhesive.  The  exterior 
tent  has  something  of  the  same  qual- 
ity. (Fig.  182.)  I  sometime*  find  the 
cocoon  of  Saltigrades  enclosed  within 
the  nesting  cell  and  spun  up  within  a 
rolled  leaf,  as  shown  at  Fig.  183,  a  beau- 
tiful example  of  aranead  sewing.  Fig. 
184  shows  the  leaf  opened  up,  disclos- 
ing the  tubular  nest,  and  again  the 
mass  of  eggs  much  enlarged  and  dis- 
played against  the  egg  case  thrown  back, 
the  egg  case,  of  course,  being  within 
the  cell. 

One  of  the  most  elaborate  cocoon  nests  woven  by  a  Saltigrade  spider 
is  that  made  by  Phidippus  opifex  of  California.  ^  The  examples  both  of 
nests  and  spiders  in  my  possession  were  sent  me  by  Mr,  W.  G.  Wright,  of 
San  Bernardino,  California.  The  cocoon  nest  is  externally  an  egg  shaped 
mass  of  white  spinningwork,  sometimes  three  inches  long  by  two  and  a 
half  inches  wide,  but  often  less,  as  in  Fig.  185,  which  is  drawn  natural 
size.  The  outer  part  consists  of  a  mass  of  fine  silken  lines  crossing  in  all 
directions  and  lashed  to  twigs  of  sage  bush,  within  which  it  is  enclosed. 
This  maze  surrounds  a  sack  or  cell  of  thickly  woven  sheeted  silk,  irregu- 
larly oval  in  shape,  two  inches  long  by  one  inch  in  width,  and  also  at- 
tached to  the  surrounding  twigs.  At  the  bottom  this  cell  or  tent  is  pierced 
by  a  circular  opening  which  serves  the  spider  as  the  door  of  her  domicile. 
Like  others  of  her  genus  Opifex  lives  and   hibernates  within   this   silken 

tent.  Against  an  inner  side  of  the 
tent  she  spins  a  lenticular  cocoon 
(of  double  convex  shape),  consisting 
of  thick  white  silk,  within  which  the 
eggs  are  placed.  When  the  cocoons 
sent  me  reached  Philadelphia  many 
young  spiders  had  escaped  and  occu- 
pied the  package  box.  They  were 
about  one-eighth  inch  long,  resem- 
bling the  mother,  but  less  heavily 
coated  with  gray.  The  spider  her- 
self is  a  large  example,  five-eighths 
of  an  inch  in  body  length,  stout,  the  legs  of  moderate  thickness,  the  whole 
animal  covered  closely  with  grayish  white  hairs,  the  skin  beneath  which  is 


Fig.  182.    Cocoon  tent  and  cocoon  of  Phidippus 
morsitans  spun  upon  a  rock. 


^  The  spider  and  its  habits  were  originally  noticed  by  me  in  Proceedings  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Philadelphia,  1883,  page  276. 


150 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


m 


Fig.  186. 


Fig.  185. 
Typical  Saltigrade  Cocoons. 
Fig.  183.    Sewed  leaf  tent  of  a  Saltigrade  spider.       Fig.  184.    Leaf  opened  to   show  the  silken  cell 
and  the  egg  mass  (enlarged)  in  the  open  cocoon.         Fig.  185.    Cocoon  nest  of  Phidippus  opifex. 
(Natural  size.)        Fig.  186.    Fac  simile  of  a  figfure  of  an  Attus  cocoon  nest,  by  Baron  De  Geer. 


GENERAL    COCOONING    HABITS    OF    SPIDERS. 


151 


black.  I  named  the  species  Attus  opifex,  but  according  to  Professor  Peck- 
ham  it  belongs  to  the  genus  Phidippus.^ 

I  present  in  this  connection  a  fac  simile  drawing  of  perhaps  the  earliest 
sketch  of  a  Saltigrade  cocooning  nest.  July  26th,  1745,  Baron  De  Geer 
found  among  the  needle  like  leaves  of  a  pine  tree  a  large,  oval  cocoon 
nest  of  white  silk,  which  was  woven  around  the  branch  and  interlaced  with 
the  leaves.  (Fig.  186.)  The  spider  was  inside  along  with  her  little  ones, 
who  were  present  in  great  number.  In  the  middle  of  the  cocoon  nest,  at 
the  side,  was  a  door,  at  which  the  spider  stayed  on  guard ;  but  generally 
she  was  within  the  tent  with  her  little  ones,  preferring  the  back  or  middle 
part  thereof,  near  the  supporting  branch.  De  Geer  found  at  the  entrance 
detritus  of  flies  and  other  insects  which  had  been  devoured  by  the  mother, 
such  as  the  legs,  wings,  etc. 

The  spiderlings  accompanied  the  mother,  and  appeared  to  live  on  good 
terms  with  her.  They  were  about  a  line  long,  but  otherwise  quite  resem- 
bled the  mother,  having  black  bodies  and  brown  legs.  They  moved  with 
great  vivacity  and  appeared  to  be  nourished,  in  common  with  their  mother, 
by  the  prey  captured  by  the  mother.  The  species  appears  to  be  Dendry- 
phantes  hastatus  Clerck.^ 

VI. 

Among  Laterigrades  a  very  general  habit  is  to  spin  a  piano  convex 
cocoon  of  tough  silk  fibre,  which  is  attached  to  some  surface.  Sometimes 
a  light  shelter  tent  is  spun  over  this,  and  the 
spider  will  be  found  dwelling  within.  (See  Vol.  I., 
page  347,  Fig.  338.)  Thomisus  cristatus  Clerck, 
of  Europe  (Xysticus  audax  Koch),  secludes  her- 
self in  the  leaves  and  stretches  some  isolated 
threads  around  her,  and  there  sometimes  she  sus- 
pends herself.  In  this  retreat  the  female  lays  her 
eggs  in  a  flat  cocoon,  one-fourth  inch  in  diame- 
ter, the  tissue  of  which  is  swollen  by  the  eggs, 
and  presents  rounded  eminences.  The  spider  places 
herself  upon  the  cocoon  and  does  not  abandon  it 
when  touched.  The  cocoon  contains  one  hundred 
eggs  of  yellowish  white  color.  ^ 

The  eggs  of  Philodromus  are  usually  enclosed  within  a  cell  which  is 
hung  among  the  leaves  or  stretched  between  twigs.  (Fig.  187.)  The  egg 
sac  is  surrounded  by  a  slight  silken  tent,  wherein  the  mother  dwells.  An 
example  of  Philodromus  mollitor,  in  my  collection,^  is  woven  in  the  angles 

^  "North  American  Spiders  of  the  Family  Attidse,  Phidippus  opifex  McCook."  Trans. 
Wisconsin  Acad.  Sci.,  Vol.  II.,  1888,  page  20. 

^  De  Geer,  pages  286,  287.  ^  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  Vol.  I.,  page  523. 

*  This  example  was  sent  me  by  Dr.  Geo.  Marx  as  the  cocoon  of  this  species. 


Fig.  187.    Cocooning  tents  of 
Philodromus  mollitor. 


152 


AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 


of  forked  twigs  and  are  composed  of  very  white  stiflF  silk,  the  stiffness  prob- 
ably being  caused  by  the  tightness  with  which  the  lines  were  spun. 
(Fig.  187.) 

Misumena  vatia  is  well  known  among  the  Laterigrade  spiders  by  its 
remarkable  mimicry  of  the  colors  of  flowers  upon  which  it  lurks  for  prey. 
A  fine  example  of  its  cocoon  was  brought  to  my  notice  by  a  lady  who  had 
transported  a  specimen  from  the  Wyoming  Valley  to  her  home  in  Phila- 
delphia. Her  attention  had  been  arrested  by  the  remarkable  resemblance  of 
the  creature  to  the  bright  golden  yellow  Coreopsis  flower  on  which  she  discov- 
ered it.  The  spider  was  placed  in  her  bedroom  chamber  about  the  28th  of 
August,  and  during  the  first  week  in  September  it  wove  the  cocoon  repre- 
sented at  Fig.  188,  in  a  corner  of  the  dressing  bureau,  just  where  a  mirror 

is  fixed  in  the  woodwork. 
The  cocoon  consists  of  a 
flossy  mass,  something 
after  the  fashion  of  that 
of  Epeira,  which  covers 
over  the  eggs.  A  tent  of 
close  white  spinningwork 
encloses  this,  having  at 
the  bottom  a  circular 
opening  one-eighth  inch 
in  diameter,  through 
which  the  spider  passed 
to  and  fro.  A  thicker 
band  of  silk,  of  the  most 
beautiful  whiteness,  look- 
ing like  spun  glass,  passes 
across  the  centre  of  the 
enclosing  tent,  joined  at 
one  end  to  the  mirror, 
and  at  the  other  to  the 
cabinet  work.  The  tent  and  cocoon  are  partly  woven  upon  the  glass  of 
the  mirror.  The  tent  is  about  two  inches  long  and  one  and  a  half  inch  wide, 
and  the  cocoon,  which  is  somewhat  irregular  in  shape,  is  about  three-fourths 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  A  few  separate  lines  are  stretched  across  the  entire 
spinningwork,  and  attached  on  either  side  of  the  angle  or  corner  which 
contains  the  cocoon.  A  few  days  after  finishing  this  work  of  maternal 
industry  the  mother  died.  According  to  Hentz'  this  species  attaches  its 
cocoon  to  the  under  side  of  a  leaf,  and  remains  near  it. 

There  is  evidently  a  good  deal  of  variety  among  the  cocoons  of  Lateri- 
grades.     Many  of  them  consist  of   two  stiff,  paper  like  pieces,  viz.,  first,  a 


Fig.  188.    Cocoon  and  tent  of  the  Laterigrade,  Misumena  vatia, 
woven  upon  a  ladies'  dressing  bureau. 


^  Spiders_U.  S.,  page  78,  on  Thomisus  fartus. 


GENERAL   COCOONING    HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


153 


Fig.  189.    Cocoon  of  Huntsman  spider,  as  clasped  and  carried 
by  the  mother.    ("View  from  above.) 


flat  circular  plate  which  is  attached  to  the  object,  rock,  bark,  or  wood  on 
which  the  cocoon  is  spun ;  and,  second,  a  convex  covering  which  fastens 
above  the  eggs  like  a  cap.  The 
inside  is  lined  with  pure  white 
silk,  but  the  outside  is  often 
of  a  grayish  brown,  and  ap- 
parently is  purposely  soiled  in 
order  to  subdue  the  color.  Usu- 
ally there  is  no  flossy  pad- 
ding for  the  eggs.  I  am  not 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  co- 
coons of  this  tribe  to  enter 
largely  into  a  comparison  with 
those  of  others,  but  the  forms 
known  to  me  and  above  de- 
scribed are  probably  typical, 
and  substantially  represent  the 
maternal  industry  of  the  Laterigrades  of  the  United  States,  and  probably 
of  the  globe. 

The  well  known  tropical  species,  Heterapoda  venatoria,  or  the  Hunts- 
man spider,  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Laterigrade  species,  and  may 
properly  be  classed  with  the  spider  fauna  of  the  United  States, 
as  I  have  specimens  from  Florida.  It  abounds  in  the  West 
Indies.  The  cocoon  is  a  large  double  convex  or  piano  convex 
object,  resembling  those  of  Thomisus  and  other  species  when 
woven  against  various  surfaces.  It  appears,  however,  to  be  car- 
ried by  the  mother;  at  least,  one  female  preserved  by  me  in  a  box  wove 
a  cocoon  of  this  sort  which  she  carried  in  the  manner  represented  at  Fig 

189,  which  gives  a  view  from 
above,  and  Fig.  190  a  view 
from  beneath.  The  button  like 
cocoon  was  put  beneath  the 
body,  which  it  almost  entirely 
covered ;  at  one  end  it  appeared 
to  be  attached  to  the  spinner- 
ets, and  at  the  other  was  held 
tightly  by  the  outspread  palps. 
The  mother  made  an  awkward 
appearance  as  she  straddled 
about    the    box,    holding    her 

Fig.  190.    Cocoon  of  Huntsman  spider,  clasped  by  the  mother.     IcgS     high     Up     aild      OUtsprcad 
(View  from  beneath.)  ^^^^   ^^^   CUmbcrSOme    COCOOU. 

If  this   be  fairly  representative  of  the  prevailing   habit  of  this   widely 
distributed  species,  we  have  among  the   Laterigrades  also   an   example  of 


The 
Hunts- 
man Hat 
erapoda. 


154  AMERICAN    SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

spiders  that  protect  their  cocoons  by  deportation,  in  this  respect  allying 
the  Laterigrades  to  the  Citigrades,  Territelarise,  and  the  few  known  spe- 
cies of  Retitelarise,  by  whom  cocoons  are  deported. 

VII. 

The  cocooning  habit  continues,  apparently  without  any  marked  change 
from   the   normal   methods,   under  the  most   decided   changes   of    environ- 
ment and  even  of  life  economy  and  constitution.     This  is  shown 

„  . ,  by  some   studies  made  of  the  cave  fauna  of  the  United  States. 

Spiders.       *' 

Prof.   A.   S.   Packard,   Jr.,^    accompanied    by   Profs.   Shaler    and 

F.  G.  Sanborn,  collected  a  number  of  spiders  from  Mammoth,  Wyan- 
dotte, Bradford,  Carter,  and  Weyer's  Caves,  obtaining  about  one  hundred 
specimens  in  nine  species.  Six  of  these,  all  belonging  to  the  Theridioids, 
were  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  larger  caves,  where  there  is 
little  or  no  light,  and  the  climate  is  little  affected  by  outside  changes. 
These,  judging  from  the  printed  descriptions,  follow  closely  the  character- 
istic cocoonery  of  like  species  in  the  open  air. 

The  well  known  cave  species  Anthrobia  mammouthia  was  collected,  to- 
gether with  cocoons,  in  the  Mammoth  Cave  under  a  stone  in  dry,  but  not 
the  driest,  places.     On  the  bottom  and  at  different  points  in  the 
Anthro-     qslyg   sometimes   two   or  three   cocoons   would   be  found  under  a 

mam-g^^^g   as   large   as   a   man's    head.     The   cocoons    were   orbicular, 
mouthia.  .... 

flattened,  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter,  formed   of  fine  silk,   and 

contained  from  two  to  five  eggs.  They  occurred  with  eggs  in  which  the 
blastodemic  cells  were  just  formed,  April  25th.  The  eggs  were  few  in 
number,  and  seemed  large  for  so  small  a  spider,  being  twenty-five  thou- 
sandths of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Packard  was  unable  to  trace  the  devel- 
opment of  the  young  and  ascertain  if  the  embryos  are  provided  with 
rudimentary  eyes.  Two  young  Anthrobias  were  hatched  out  March  3d  in 
his  room. 

Nesticus  pallidus  ^  was  found  in  Fountain  Cave,  Virginia,  among  sta- 
lactites where  there  was  no  daylight.  It  spins  a  weak,  irregular 
ll'd  ^Q^,  consisting  of  a  few  threads,  according  to  Packard.^  Among 
these  threads  several  loose  cocoons  were  found,  one  containing 
thirty  or  forty  young  just  hatched. 

Several  years  ago  I  received  from  Prof.  Joseph  Leidy  two  spiders  col- 
lected by  him  in  Luray  Cavern,  which  appear  to  be  Linyphia  weyeri. 
The  specimens  were  not  accompanied  by  any  notes  as  to  snares  or  location, 
but  I  have   recently  received   some  information   concerning   Luray  spiders 

^  "The  Invertebrate  Fauna  of  Kentucky  and  Adjoining  States."  American  Naturalist, 
Vol.  IX.,  page  274. 

^  Emerton,  "  Notes  on  Spiders  from  Caves,  etc.,"  Amer.  Natr.,  Vol.  IX.,  page  279. 
3  Id.,  page  277. 


GENERAL   COCOONING   HABITS   OF   SPIDERS. 


155 


Spiders. 


Their 
Abode 


from  Mr.  Clarence  P.  Franklin,  of  Philadelphia,  who  made  an  explora- 
tion of  that  cavern  in  order  to  collect  the  fauna  living  therein.  Among 
the  specimens  collected  and  submitted  to  me  are  two  which 
Luray  appear  also  to  be  Linyphia  weyeri,  and  are  probably  identical 
with  the  Linyphia  found  by  Professor  Packard  in  the  caves  of 
Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Virginia,  and  which  have  been  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Emerton. 

These  spiders  were  found  in  a  chamber  separate  entirely  from  that 
part  of  the  cavern  which  is  now  illuminated  by  electric  lights,  and  which 
is  entered  by  a  narrow  opening.  The  location  is  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  main  entrance  of  the  cave,  and  is  in  total  dark- 
ness. The  araneads  were  found  upon  the  banks  of  a  pool,  and 
were  seen  crawling  about  in  the  light  of  the  torches  in  the  guide's  hand. 
No  webs  were  seen  in  this  spot,  though  doubtless  such  must  exist. 

In  another  inner  chamber,   about  one-fourth   of    a  mile  distant    from 
the   entrance,   Mr.   Franklin  found  numbers   of  webs  and  at  least  one  co- 
coon.    This  spot  is  also  in  total  darkness, 
is  beyond  the   influence  of  the 

Cave  electric    lights,   and   in   a  com- 

Websand         x-     i      j  i-     £  ^-x. 

^  paratively  dry  part  oi  the  cav- 

Cocoons.   ^  "^       \  -,       r 

ern,  among  older  formations  of 

stalactite  and  stalagmite.  Upon  one  sta- 
lagmite about  ten  feet  high  and  two  feet 
to  two  and  a  half  wide  at  the  base,  he 
found  at  least  fifty  webs  hanging  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  structure.  This  stalag- 
mite was  roughly  fluted  from  the  base  to 
the  apex,  the  fluting  being  from  one  and 
a  half  to  three  inches  in  width.  Within  the  interspaces  thus  formed 
were  stretched  these  webs,  which  appeared  to  be  all  of  one  character,  as 
represented  at  Fig.  191.  This  figure  was  not  drawn  upon  the  spot,  but 
is  a  memory  sketch  made  from  notes  and  recollection  of  the  observation. 
The  web  appears  to  be  composed  of  simple  lines  stretched  across  the  space 
and  placed  between  the  walls  of  the  fluting,  and  one  above  another,  so 
thickly  that  they  touch  and  form  an  open  hammock  or  sheet.  This  when 
seen  was  depressed  in  the  centre,  and  formed  a  shallow  pocket  or  pouch. 
In  the  midst  of  the  intersecting  threads,  and  at  one  side  of  the  snare, 
was  hung  a  small  cocoon.  It  is  about  one-eighth  inch  in  diameter,  is 
composed  of  fine  flossy  silk,  and  contained  a  small  number  of  eggs. 

I  conjecture  that  the  original  web  consisted  of  retitelarian  lines  strung 
across  the  flutings,  and  that  these,  by  reason  of  use  and  age,  had  relaxed 
and  merged  one  with  another,  forming  the  rude  sheet  like  snare  described 
by  Mr.  Franklin.  This  characteristic  may  often  be  seen  in  Theridioid 
snares.     Indeed,   as  I  have  heretofore  shown  (see  Figs.  211  and  212,  and 


Fig.  191.    Snare  and  cocoon  of  Linyphia 
weyeri  (?)  in  Luray  Cavern. 


156  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWOllK. 


Vol.  I.,  page  223),  it  is  a  constant  tendency  of  Lineweavers  to  thicken  the 
upper  part  of  their  snares  until  they  sometimes  have  a  quite  sheet  like 
appearance. 

Nothing  could  be  more  interesting  than  a  study  of  the  life  of  these 
creatures  thus  doomed  to  perpetual  darkness  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth. 
To  a  great  extent  their  natural  history  must  be  a  matter  of 
_,      ,  speculation.     That  they  make  snares  we  know,  and  the  character 

of  those  snares  is  without  exception  the  most  rudimentary  spun 
by  spiders,  namely,  a  series  of  intersecting  lines  drawn  from  point  to 
point.  The  fact  that  they  make  snares  implies  that  there  must  be  some 
creatures  to  be  ensnared  upon  which  they  feed,  and  these  creatures  must, 
of  course,  be  less  in  physical  power  than  themselves.  What  insects  form 
the  basis  of  their  food  ?  Among  the  insects  occupying  similar  American 
caverns  are  minute  delicate  mites,  and  Professor  Packard  conjectures  that 
these,  together  wdth  young  Podurse,  may  form  a  portion  of  their  food. 

Moreover,  these  cave  araneads  have  sufficient  vitality  to  propagate  their 
own  species.  The  old  story  of  wooing  and  mating  goes  on  in  these  regions 
of  unbroken  darkness  just  as  it  does  in  the  sunlight  and  among  the  flow- 
ers and  shrubs  above.  Mother  love  is  not  quenched  by  the  endless  gloom, 
and  the  tiny  creature  of  the  cavern  spins  and  cares  for  its  tiny  cocoon 
just  as  does  its  more  favored  sister  of  the  sunlight.  The  number  of  eggs 
within  the  cocoons  is  very  small  in  some  species,  according  to  the  state- 
ments of  Professor  Packard  from  two  to  five  in  Anthrobia,  but  in  others 
the  excess  of  life  is  quite  sufficient  (there  being  thirty  or  forty  in  the  co- 
coons of  Nesticus  pallidus)  to  justify  the  inference  that  the  chief  supply 
of  food  for  these  cave  spiders  is  drawn  from  their  own  numbers.  In  other 
words,  they  feed  upon  each  other,  and  these  Plutonic  children  of  Arachne 
must  continue  their  generations  largely  by  cannibalism. 

The  influence  of  this  mode  of  existence  upon  the  structure  and  senses 
of  these  cave  spiders  will  be  considered  elsewhere.  It  may  be  fitting,  how- 
ever, to  add  here  an  experience  which  throws  some  light  upon  the  manner 
in  which  the  animals  might  have  been  originally  conveyed  to  these  sub- 
terranean abodes.  One  summer  while  examining  the  limestone 
Orig-m  caverns  in  central  Pennsylvania,  located  among  the  Allegheny 
p  Mountains,  in  what  is  known  as  the  Scotch  Valley,  not  far  from 

the  city  of  Altoona,  I  stood  in  the  channel  of  a  small  stream  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Sinking  Spring.  Looking  forward,  towards  the  source 
of  the  stream,  I  saw  the  waters  flowing  down  towards  me,  but  gradually 
diminishing,  with  no  apparent  reason,  until,  near  the  spot  where  I  stood, 
the  stream  dwindled  to  a  mere  thread  and  disappeared.  It  produced  a 
curious  sensation  to  stand  thus  in  midchannel  and  see  a  flowing  brooklet 
lost  to  one's  sight  before  it  reached  the  point  where,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  have  swept  around  the  feet  of  the  observer.  The 
secret,  however,  was  readily  explained,  for  the  whole   section   underneath 


GENERAL   COCOONING  HABITS   OF   SPIDERS.  157 

the  bed  of  the  stream  is  hollow  and  connected  with  the  cavernous  forma- 
tion which  characterizes  the  entire  region.  The  water  could  be  seen  trick- 
ling down  through  the  pebbles,  and,  by  putting  the  ear  to  the  ground,  it 
could  be  heard  dropping  into  the  depths  beneath. 

I  observed  that,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  place  where  the  threaded 

points  of   the   stream    thus   sunk    out   of   sight,  numbers   of   little   spiders 

were'  running  about,  some  of  them   probably   seeking  food,  but 

^^,  ^'^^    others   appearing   simply   to   be   enjoying    themselves   like   other 

Brink         joung  animals  at  play.     These  spiderlings  seemed  to  be  chiefly 

Lycosids,   though    some    of    them   were   probably  the  young  of 

Agalena   nee  via,  and,  it   may  be,  other   species.     They  were   ruiming  over 

the   bed    of    the    brook    and    hiding    under   the   pebbles   at  the   very   spot 

where  the  water   sunk   out  of   sight ;   and   it   immediately  occurred   to  me 

that  nothing  was  more  likely  than  that  numbers  of  these   spiders   might 

be,  and   indeed   had   been,  caught  in  the  falling  waters  and  carried  down 

into  the  cavern  underneath. 

They  have  sufficient  vitality  to  endure,  without  much  injury,  such  a 
transition,  but  what  would  befall  them  when  they  reached  their  subter- 
ranean prison?  Would  these  lost  spiderlings  make  themselves  at  home 
and  proceed  to  adapt  themselves  to  their  new  environment  ?  Many  spiders, 
we  know,  love  gloomy  abodes,  dens  in  the  earth  and  shaded  spots.  They 
are  nocturnal  creatures,  and  go  out  at  night  to  seek  their  prey.  It  would 
not  be  so  very  difficult  for  creatures  reared  under  these  circumstances  to 
survive  in  total  darkness,  if  only  the  means  of  livelihood  could  be  found. 

But  what  would  be  the  influence  of  environment  upon  these  unwilling 
prisoners  of  the  cave  ?  How  long  would  it  be  ere  change  in  life  compelled 
a  change  in  structure  ?  To  what  degree  would  that  structural 
p  ®  ^ .°  change  occur  ?  What  forms  are  those  most  likely  to  survive 
"such  a  transition?  What  species  were  the  ancestors  of  our  cave 
fauna?  As  far  as  known,  those  now  extant  appear  to  belong  chiefly  to 
the  Theridioids,  and  their  habits  indicate  the  rudimentary  form  of  spider 
life  which  is  possessed  by  that  family.  Have  all  other  species  accident- 
ally introduced  into  caves  perished,  except  these  delicately  organized  Reti- 
telarians.  Or  shall  we  think  that  some  species  have  gradually  been  trans- 
formed by  the  influence  of  their  strange  new  life  into  those  peculiar  forms 
which  now  inhabit  our  caves? 

Judging  from  the  well  known  habits  of  surface  species,  I  would  have 
expected  and  predicted  that  the  prevailing  fauna  of  caverns  would  have 
belonged  to  the  Tubeweavers.  Many  species  of  this  tribe  live 
Tube-  jj^  corners,  crannies,  dark  rooms,  under  stones,  rocks,  fallen  trees, 
.  p  ■  and  like  locations,  from  which  light  is  largely  excluded.  Others 
dox.  secure  their   prey  during   night  hours,  although    in  this   respect 

they  are  not  peculiar  from  other  tribes.  The  transfer  from 
such  a  habit  to  a  life  within  a  cavern  to  which  no  light  ever  penetrates, 


158  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

or  which  is  but  dimly  illuminated,  would  seem  to  be  less  decided  transition 
than  in  the  case  of  many  other  genera.  Nevertheless,  the  facts  at  present 
within  possession  of  araneologists  appear  to  indicate  that  the  Tubeweavers 
have  secured  no  permanent  representatives  among  our  cave  fauna,  this 
position  being  wholly  occupied  by  members  of  the  Retitelariae.  We  have 
thus  presented  the  curious  fact  that  the  species  which  by  natural  tendency 
appear  to  be  best  adapted  to  survive  cavern  conditions  have  been  thor- 
oughly eliminated  or  excluded. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
COMPARATIVE  COCOONING  INDUSTRIES. 

In  this  chapter  I  propose  to  review  the  cocooning  industry  of  spiders 
as  given  in  the  last  two  chapters.  In  order  to  compare  those  methods  of 
spinning  the  cocoon  which  characterize  the  genera  of  the  several  Tribes, 
I  shall  first  describe  in  detail  the  manner  in  which  Argiope  cophinaria 
constructs  her  cocoon. 

No  single  point,  in  my  study  of  aranead  spinningwork,  has  been  a 
subject  of  more  prolonged  attention,  and  the  cause  of  greater  disappoint- 
ment, than  the  mode  practiced  by  the  mother  spider  in  overspinning  and 
protecting  her  eggs.  I  strongly  desired  to  see  and  describe  the  entire 
process  on  the  part  of  at  least  one  species,  and,  if  possible,  of  several 
species.  To  this  end  I  have  year  after  year  sought  the  natural  sites  at 
the  cocooning  time,  and  have  kept  watch,  day  and  night,  personally  and 
by  proxy,  over  numbers  of  gravid  females  confined  within  various  boxes, 
jars,  and  other  objects.  I  have  tried  to  make  the  artificial  conditions  as 
favorable  and  natural  as  possible.  Notwithstanding  all  the  patience  and 
ingenuity  expended  upon  the  observations,  I*  am  compelled  to  confess  that 
the  secretiveness  of  the  female  spider  has  been  a  fair  match  for  my  curiosity. 

It  is  true  that  I  have  made  many  observations  of  the  process  of  cocoon 
making  at  various  points  of  the  same,  ranging  all  along  from  the  first 
stages  to  the  last.  Yet  I  have  never  had  the  opportunity  to  see  the  entire 
process  in  any  one  species  or  genus,  and,  indeed,  there  are  one  or  two 
points  of  the  process  which  I  have  never  seen  in  any  species  of  any 
family.  Nevertheless,  I  have  observed  nearly  all  the  stages  of  construc- 
tion in  the  case  of  Argiope  cophinaria,  and  am  therefore  able  to  describe 
methods  of  spinningwork  which,  if  they  have  heretofore  been  observed, 
have  at  least  never  been  made  known.  The  description  of  this  industry 
will  form  the  first  section  of  the  present  chapter.  Thereafter  will  be  in- 
troduced some  conclusions  which  a  comparative  view  of  cocooning  indus- 
try has  suggested  to  my  mind. 

I. 

I  observed  one  of  my  Argiopes,  which  I  will  distinguish  as  Prima  for 
convenience'  sake,  shortly  after  she  had  left  her  snare  upon  an  ampelopsis 
vine,  crawling  along  stems  under  leaves  with  that  uneasy  demeanor  which 
commonly  indicates  that  the  crisis  of  maternity  is  near.     I  placed  her  in 

(159) 


160 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  192.  Argiope  cophinaria  immediate- 
ly after  ovipositing.  The  spider  is  be- 
neath the  mass  of  newly  laid  eggs  which 
she  has  just  begun  to  overspin. 


Argiope 
cophi- 
naria. 


a  trying  box,   and  sat   up   with   her  until  a  late  hour  at  night.     During 
a  considerable  portion   of  the  evening  she  moved  back  and  forth  in  the 

box,  spinning  lines  from  one  side  to  the  oth- 
er, and  finally  settled  in  one  corner  as  though 
to  rest.     Thereupon  I  retired. 

Next  morning  at  5.35  o'clock  I  visited  the 
box,  and  found  that  the  eggs  had  just  been 
laid,  and  enclosed  within  their  first  thin  silk- 
en pouch.     A  rectangular  patch  of  yellowish 
white  silk  was  swung  to  the  cross  lines  spun 
the   night  before.     Immediately  beneath  this 
was  a  tuft  of  brownish  silk,  that  enclosed  a 
tiny  silken   dish   three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  which  rested  against  the  top  piece, 
with   its  concavity   downwards.     Against   this   dish    Prima  had   oviposited 
her  eggs,  forcing  them  upward  evidently  as  she  hung  in  position 
beneath.     At  the  time  of  my  observation   this  was  the  position 
of  affairs.     The   eggs  were   in   a   hemispherical   mass,   and  hung 
downward,  with  no  enclosure  except  the  white  silken  pouch  which 
is  the  first  covering  the  Orbweaver  usually  places  upon  the  eggs.    (Fig.  192.) 
The  mother  remained  for  a  few  minutes  beneath  her  eggs,  and  then 
began  spinning  the  brown  covering.     Her  back   was  downwards,  and   her 
feet  curved   upwards,   holding  to  the  supporting  lines  or  to  the 
The  edges  of  the  top  piece.     Gradually  moving  herself  around  in  a 

horizontal  plane,  she  spun  the  threads  upward  against  the  top 
part  of  the  egg  mass,  attaching  threads  to  the  overhanging  edges 
of  the  flossy  tuft  already  described.  This  action  and  position  are  repre- 
sented by  Fig.  193.  At  six  o'clock  and  eight 
minutes  she  rested  for  a  few  moments,  and 
at  that  time  her  work  presented  the  appear- 
ance represented  at  Fig.  193. 

Unfortunately,  she  was  much  hampered 
by  having  lost  two  legs,  which  happened 
to  be  the  most  important  for  her  present 
purpose,  as  one  of  them  was  the  hind  leg 
used  in  spinning,  and  the  other  the  first  leg, 
which  is  the  guide,  if  I  may  so  say,  of-  the 
spider's  motion,  being  continually  used  to 
feel  the  way  as  she  progresses,  and  pilot 
her  into  the  proper  course.  Thus  mutilated. 
Prima  probably  was  twice  as  long  accom- 
plishing her  task  as  she  otherwise  would  have  been,  since  she  only  had 
one  leg  with  which  to  draw  out  and  pack  the  silk  as  it  issued  from  the 
spinnerets.     Nevertheless,  she  managed  affairs  very  handsomely. 


Brown 
Pad. 


Fig.  193.  Argiope  spinning  up  the  brown 
padding  around  her  eggs.  The  hind  leg  is 
shown  drawing  out  the  silk,  and  the  bunch 
of  loops  is  shown  against  the  cocoon. 


COMPAKATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRIES. 


161 


During  this  and  the  earlier  part  of  her  weaving  it  seemed  to  me  that 
the  silk  escaped  from  the  posterior  pair  of  spinnerets  alone.     It  came  out 

as  white  silk  with  a  little  yellowish  cast  in  it,  bearing  a  pretty 
f®  °         gloss.     The  spinnerets  were  widely  flared,  and  the  silk  issued  in 

several  filaments.  The  hind  leg  was  thrown  upward  as  "the 
spider  moved  and  seized  these  filaments  with  the  foot,  apparently  using 
all  the  spines  from  the  claws  upward  to  the  tarsal  joint,  and  even  part  of 
the  metatarsus.  The  thread  was  carried  away  from  the  abdomen  rather 
slowly  toward  the  cocoon.  (Figs.  194  and  195.^)  At  the  same  moment,' 
also,  the  abdomen  approached  the  cocoon  without  touching  it.  Between 
the  spinnerets  and  the  spider's  foot  the  silken  filaments  were  stretched 
taut  (Fig.  196),  and  after  the  first  gentle  motion  of  approximating  the 
cocoon   the   abdomen  was  swung   in  the  opposite  direction;   that  is,  away 


Fig.  195. 


Figs.  194,  195.    The  action  of  Argiope  in  drawing  out  silk  with  the  spinning  legs.    The 
alternation  of  the  legs  appears  by  comparing  the  figures. 

from  the  foot,  so  that  the  intervening  stream  of  silken  threads  was  drawn 
out  to  a  considerable  distance,  sometimes  as  far  as  three-quarters  of  an 
inch.  In  the  meantime  that  portion  of  the  outspun  threads  between  the 
spider's  foot  and  the  point  at  which  the  line  was  attached  to  the  cocoon, 
of  course,  relaxed  and  doubled  up  into  a  curled  loop  of  several  strings ; 
and  in  this  condition  it  was  when  the  leg  finally  touched  the 
Laying  cocoon.  (See  Fig.  196.)  With  a  quick  movement  the  thread 
Loo  s  ^^^  slipped  off  the  leg  and  pushed  into  the  mass  of  spinning- 
work  already  accumulated.  It  at  once  adhered,  though  no  viscid 
material  appeared  to  be  intermingled  therewith,  and  added  its  flossy  loops 
to  the  mass  that  had  been  spun  before.  The  position  of  the  leg  and  spin- 
nerets during  this  action  is  represented  at  Fig.  197. 


^  These  two  figures  were  made  from  a  second  spider  with  full  complement  of  legs. 


162 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Packing-. 


At  occasional  intervals  the  spinnerets  were  laid  against  the  cocoon 
and  held  there  a  brief  space,  while  the  spider  pushed  them  into  the 
mass,  attaching  her  thread  precisely  after  the  manner  described  as  cus- 
tomary when  she  is  making  a  dragline  anchorage.     (See  Vol.   I,   page  61.) 

This,  of  course,  held  to  its  position  and 
prevented  the  raveling  of  the  thread  al- 
ready accumulated.  I  was  somewhat  sur- 
prised that  more  use  was  not  made  of  the 
spinnerets,  as  I  had  conceived  the  idea  that 
Fig.  198.  The  hind  leg  of  Argiope  stretehed    ^jj^y    ^qj.q    continually   employed    to    beat 

out  and  drawing  the  ray  of  threads.  "  .  .    , 

down  and  pack  the  cocooning  material, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  long  spinnerets  of  Agalena  nsevia  and  most  of 
the  Tunnelweavers.  On  the  contrary,  the  spinnerets  rarely  touched  the 
cocoon,  at  this  stage  of  the  work  at  least,  and  the  entire  process  of  packing 
Was  accomplished  by  the  pressure  of  the  leg  alone. 

It  seemed  to  me  also  that  the  palpi  had  something  to  do  in  packing 
the  flossy  loops  as  they  gathered  upon  the  mass.  At  all  events,  they  were 
always  held  doubled  under,  as  represented  in  some  of  the  fig- 
ures, and  were  moved  continually  in  a  way  that  gave  me  the 
idea  that  the  spider  appeared  to  be  kneading  the  silk  with  them.  Per- 
haps the  reason  of  this  was  to  prevent  the  palpal  claw  from  fastening  in 
the  threads,  for  care  was  also  taken  to  bend  the  claws  of  the  feet  well 
under,  as  though  to  guard  them  from  that  annoyance. 

In  this  manner  the  spider  proceeded,  working  her   silken  mass   down- 
ward,  and   gradually  bringing  it   to  a  tolerably  regular,  oval  shape.     This 
was  done  entirely  by  so  regulating  the  discharge  of  the  silk  and 
Equahz-    ^j^g   application   of   it   to   the  cocoon   that   the  surface   was  kept 
^   .      ,       even   and   regular.     I   cannot  positively  say  upon  what   principle 

this  was  accomplished,  but  I  was  made 
aware  of  the  fact  that  the  aranead  continually 
changed  her  course  as  she  moved  around  the  co- 
coon, describing  a  complicated  series  of  convolu- 
tions. This  was  shown  strikingly  in  the  following 
way :  In  order  to  make  exact  drawings  of  the  va- 
rious attitudes  of  the  spider  while  spinning,  I  drew 
a  number  of  outlines  of  the  cocoon  at  various  stages 
upon  blank  paper,  and  waited  to  insert-  the  various 
parts,  as  the  legs,  palps,  spinnerets,  etc.,  in  proper 
sequence  as  the  spider  would  from  time  to  time  re- 
appear at  the  same  point.  My  idea  was  that  on 
one  round  I  would  sketch  one  leg,  on  another  the  next  leg,  and  so  on, 
supposing  that  Prima  would  appear  substantially  at  or  near  the  same 
place  a  number  of  times  during  her  numerous  rounds,  and  thus  I  would 
have  many  opportunities  to  catch  her  in  the  same  attitude. 


Fig.  197.  Manner  of  forming  and 
laying  on  the  loops. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONINQ   INDUSTRIES.  163 


I  was,  however,  made  painfully  conscious  of  the  fact  that  she  very 
rarely  presented  the  same  attitude  consecutively.  As  she  made  her  rounds 
she  would  almost  invariably  appear  at  a  different  point  each 
Wind-  time,  now  above,  now  below,  now,  at  the  middle,  and  anon 
J^  ®  emerging  from  beneath  and  coming  back  upon  her  course.  (Figs. 
198,  199.)  It  thus  became  a  matter  of  much  greater  difficulty 
to  secure  good  drawings  than  I  had  calculated  upon,  although  I  eventually 
satisfied  myself.  But  in  the  meantime  it  appeared  that  by  this  peculiar 
mode  of  progress  the  spider  equalized  the  distribution  of  spinning  material 
upon  her  cocoon,  and  prevented  any  part  of  it  from  growing  dispropor- 
tionately to  other  parts.  The  method  was  not  unlike  that  of  a  person 
winding  a  ball  of  silk  or  wool  from  a  skein  of  thread. 

One  cannot  but  recognize  in  this  action  a  manifest  purpose,  however 
directed  or  originated,  to  build  -up  her  cocoon  mass  symmetrically,  and 
cover  all  parts   thereof  equally.     While  thus  engaged  in  spinning,  the  feet 


Fig.  198.  Fig.  199. 

Equalizing  the  output  of  thread. 

Fig.  198.    Position  below  the  cocoon.       Fig.  199.    Position  above  on  next  round. 

were  extended  upwards,  grasping  the  shoulder  of  the  flossy  mass  or  the 
edges  of  the  supporting  top  piece.  As  the  mass  increased,  the  legs,  of 
course,  were  stretched  out  further,  but  at  no  time  was  there  any  difficulty 
in  enclosing  the  entire  structure  within  the  long  legs  of  the  animal. 

Brief  rests  were  taken  at  long  intervals  of  time,  but  the  periods  were 
very  short,  three  or  four  minutes  as  a  rule,  rarely  more.  The  spinning 
continued  without  intermission,  sometimes  more  slowly  and  again 
T,     -  more  rapidly.     At  seven   o'clock   and   eight  minutes  the   cocoon 

appeared  to  be  completed,  as  far  as  its  general  shape  and  size 
were  concerned,  but  the  spider  continued  working  on  it  until  ten  o'clock 
and  fifteen  minutes,  when  I  was  compelled  to  cease  my  observations. 

During  the  last  three  hours  the  spinnerets  were  more  frequently  squeezed 
against  the  cocoon,  as  though  to  pack  the  mass  and  fasten  the  threads 
more  closely.     The  filaments*  now,  instead  of   being  bent  upon  the  surface 


164 


AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  200. 


Fir,.  201. 


in  the  form  of  flossy  loops  of   curled  thread,  seemed  to  be  laid   down   as 
straight  lines.     As  a  consequence  the   surface  after  spinning  did  not  show 

the  flossy  a[>pearance,  for  example,  of  a  bit 
of  cotton  wool,  but  father  the  smooth  and 
ij^  compact  appearance  of  a  spool  of  closely 
wound  sewing  thread.  Not  that  the  co- 
coon thread  was  wrapped  quite  as  closely 
as  the  spool,  but  in  a  general  way  it  pre- 
FiGs.  200, 201.  Epeira  strix  enclosing  her  eggs  seutcd   that    appearance.      This   effect    was 

within  silk  floss.    (After  Emerton.)  ,     i      i  ,  i  n  r      .i  ^ 

promoted  by  the  use  made  oi  the  leg, 
which  was  laid  flat  along  the  cocoon,  and  the  last  two  joints  pressed  against 
it,  thus  serving  to  compact  the  threads. 

When  I  returned  at  twelve  o'clock  and  ten  minutes,  work  upon  the 
cocoon  had  ceased,  and  the  spider  was  putting  in  the  finishing  lines  of 
the  maze  of  interlacing  threads  within  which  the  cocoon  of  this  species  is 
ordinarily  suspended.  I  was  somewhat  surprised,  however,  to  find  that  no 
change  had  occurred  in  the  exterior  appearance  and  character  of  the  mass 
since  I  had  left  it.  I  had  supposed  that  some  kind  of  a  varnish  would  be 
laid  upon  the  surface,  having  the  idea  that  perhaps  some  modification  or 
degree  of  the  material  which  composes  the  viscid  beading  of  the  snare 
would  be  used  to  cover  in  the  interspaces  of  the  silk  on  the  exterior,  thus 
making  it  partly  weatherproof.  But  Prima's  cocoon  showed  only  the 
glossy  white  silken  surface  with  a  little  tinge  of  yellow,  and  no  trace  of 
anything  but  the  original  silk  as  it  had  issued  from  the  spinnerets. 

This  was  in  sharp  contrast  with  a  cocoon  in  the  trying  box  just  above, 
which  had  been  made  by  another  Argiope  two  days  before,  but  whose 
making  I  was  not  able  to  see.  I  had  watched  it  late  into  the  night,  and 
in  the  morning  when  I  came  to  look  at  it  the  cocoon  was  entirely  finished 
and  the  spider  engaged  in  weaving 
around  it  its  protection  of  netted  lines. 
But  the  surface  of  the  cocoon  had  been 
treated  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  pre- 
sented the  customary  yellowish  brown 
tint,  had  the  hard,  dry,  parchment  like 
feeling,  and  gave  out  the  crackling 
sound  which  is  almost  invariable  in 
cocoons  of  this  species.  I  have  little 
doubt  that  it  is  treated  in  some  pe- 
culiar way,  immediately  after  comple- 
tion, in  order  to  produce  this  effect,  but  Fi«-  202.  Female  Therldium  tepldariorum  finishing 
-,     .  -  a  cocoon.    Other  cocoons  hanging  in  the  nest. 

as  yet  the  method  is  unknown  to  me. 

The  spider  Prima  probably  began  to  make  her  cocoon  shortly  before 
five  o'clock  of  the  morning,  and  must  have  continued  weaving  at  least 
until   half   past  ten.     She   was   therefore   engaged   five   hours,  at  the  least. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRIES.  165 


in  work.  But  as  her  mutilation  prevented  her  from  making  the  ordinary 
speed  in  spinning,  this  cannot  be  taken  as  a  fair  test  of  the  time  which 
an  able  bodied  spider  would  require  for  the  same  work.  In 
„  ®  .  point  of  fact,  I  think  that  half  the  time,  or  from  two  hours 
Weaving.*^  two  and  a  half,  is  the  period  commonly  taken  by  the  fe- 
male Argiope  cophinaria  to  construct  her  beautiful  and  intricate 
cocoon.  I  had  the  opportunity,  since  making  the  above  detailed  observa- 
tions, to  see  other  Argiopes  spinning  their  cocoons.  The  process  is  always 
the  same,  except  that  those  spiders  which  (unlike  Prima)  have  both  their 
hind  legs,  use  them  alternately  in  drawing  out  and  packing  the  spinning 
stufP. 

II. 

Without  entering  into  details  as  fully  as  with  Argiope,  we  may  state 
generally  the  methods  of  cocoon  construction  practiced  by  other  species 
and  tribes.  This  will  give  sufficient  material  for  comparison. 
Th  "d"  '^^^  same  mode  of  weaving  is  used  by  Epeira  and  all  other 
Orbweavers  whose  habit  in  this  regard  is  known  to  me.  Mr. 
Emerton^  gives  a  brief  description  of  the  manner  in  which  Epeira  strix 
weaves  her  cocoon.  She  touches  her  spinnerets  as  in  Fig.  200,  drawing 
them  away  at  a  short  distance,  and  at  the  same  time  pressing  upwards 
with  the  hind  feet,  as  in  Fig.  201.  Then  she  moves  the  abdomen  a  little 
sidewise  and  attaches  the  bands  of  threads  so  as  to  form  a  loop.  She 
keeps  making  these  loops,  turning  at  the^  same  time,  so  .is  to  form  a 
rounded  bunch  of  them. 

Of  the  Line  weavers,  I  have  seen  Theridium  tepidariorum  engaged  in 
overspinning  her  eggs.  Fig.  202  represents  this  spider  in  the  act  of  put- 
ting the  finishing  touches  upon  the  outer  case  of  one  cocoon,  while  two 
others  are  hanging  within  the  intersecting  lines  of  her  snare,  from  one 
of  which  a  little  brood  of  spiderlings  has  already  escaped.  The  cocoon 
was  suspended  by  a  stout  thread  to  the  thickened  mass  near  the  top  of 
the  web,  upon  which  the  mother  held  with  one  long  fore  leg  while  she 
clasped  and  revolved  her  cocoon  with  the  other  legs.  The  spinning  ma- 
terial was  drawn  out  and  laid  on  in  loops  as  described  at  length  of 
Argiope. 

The  process  of  making  a  cocoon,  as  practiced  by  the  Speckled  Agalena, 
was  observed  in  the  case  of  a  female  confined  within  a  glass  jar.  A  leaf 
was  laid  against  the  inner  side  of  the  vessel  as  a  suitable  object 
Makmg  upon  which  to  place  the  cocoon  should  the  mother  be  inclined 
Cocoon  ^^  ^^®  ^^'  ^^^^  presently  availed  herself  of  the  opportunity,  and 
wove  upon  the  leaf  a  cocoon  of  the  ordinary  sort.  I  did  not 
observe   the   whole   process,   but   saw   the   finishing.      The   silken    rug   had 


'Habits  and  Structure,"  page  101. 


166 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


first  been  spun  upon  the  leaf,  within  which  the  egg  mass  was  oviposited. 
Over  that  the  external  blanket  was  woven,  and  when  my  observation 
began  the  mother  was  engaged  upon  this. 

The  method  of  proceeding  did  not  differ  from  that  of  other  species 
and  tribes  in  like  work.  The  spider  grasped  the  margins  of  the  cocoons 
with  the  claws  of  her  fore  feet,  which  she  continually  moved  around 
the  margin  as  she  spun.  The  third  pair  of  legs,  and  occasionall}^  one  of 
the  fourth,  were  also  used  for  grasping  the  cocoon  and  moving  the  spider's 
body.     The  remaining  fourth  leg,  and  sometimes  both  the  hind  legs,  were 

used  for  drawing  out  the  spinning 
threads.  As  the  spider  thus  swung 
around  her  cocoon,  heavy  filaments 
of  silk  were  extruded  from  all  the 
spinnerets,  which  were  opened  up 
and  somewhat  elevated.  The  long 
jointed  third  pair,  particularly,  was 
constantly  lifted  up  and  dropped, 
as  though  beating  in  the  silken  tis- 
sue, after  the  manner  described  in 
the  case  of  Argiope  cophinaria  when 
making  her  silken  shield.  (Vol.  I., 
Chapter  VI.,  page  100.) 

We  may  confidently  assert  that 
the  Territelarise  form  no  exception, 
for  I  have  fully  observed  their  mode 
of  spinning  the  material  which  cor- 
responds with  the  silken  cocoon. 
The  silken  rug  on  which  our  great 
Tarantula  rests,  the  tube  of  the 
Purseweb  spider,  etc.,  are  almost 
certainly  woven  precisely  as  is  the 
cocoon  of  those  species;  and,  if  so. 

Fig.  203.    Agalenanaevia  engaged  in  covering  her  eggs;     1\^q     TunnclwCaVerS     Spiu     their     CO- 
use  of  the  long  spinnerets. 

coons  as  do  other  tribes. 
Turning  to  the  Wanderers,  we  have  in  the  case  of  the  Lycosids  an  ex- 
ample, to  which  I  have  heretofore  referred  (Vol.  II.,  page  144),  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  Lycosa  fabricates  her  round  cocoon.  She  first 
weaves  a  circular  patch,  which  she  afterwards  forms  into  a  hol- 
low sphere  surrounding  her  eggs.  The  mode  of  equalizing  the  spinning 
thread  is  as  follows :  The  feet  clasped  the  circumference  of  the  cushion, 
and  the  body  of  the  animal  was  slowly  revolved.  The  abdomen,  greatly 
reduced  in  size  by  the  extrusion  of  the  eggs,  was  lifted  up,  thus  drawing 
out  short  loops  of  silk  from  the  extended  spinnerets,  which,  when  the 
abdomen   was   dropped  again,  contracted  and   left  a  flossy  curl  of  silk  at 


Lycosa. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING  INDUSTRIES.  167 


the  point  of  attachment.  The  abdomen  was  also  swayed  from  one  side  to 
another,  the  filaments  from  the  spinnerets  following  the  motion  as  the 
spider  turned ;  and  thus  an  even  thickness  of  silk  was  laid  upon  the  eggs. 
The  same  behavior  marked  the  spinning  of  the  silken  rug  or  cushion  in 
the  middle  of  which  the  eggs  had  been  deposited.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  the  entire  process  of  forming  a  cocoon,  as  wrought  by  Lycosa,  resem- 
bles in  every  particular  the  mode  practiced  by  Tubeweavers  and  substan- 
tially by  Orbweavers. 

So   also   is  it  with   the   Saltigrades.     I  have  observed   Phidippus  rufus 

spinning  its  cocoon,  and  she  proceeds  after  the  same  general  method.     A  Salti- 

grade  mother  is  represented  at  Fig.  205,  as  sketched  in  the  act 

^'  of  cocoon  making.  The  diverging  lines  of  silken  spinning  stuff 
are  there  seen  proceeding  from  the  spinnerets,  while  the  abdomen 
is  lifted  up  at  a  considerable  incline,  and  the  feet  clasp  the  borders  of  the 
cocoon.  As  this  Phidippus  revolved  she  alternately  dropped  and  elevated 
the  abdomen,  while  the  silken  loops  thus  formed  curled  down  into  the 
mass  already  spun  and  were  further  beaten  in  by  the  spinnerets  and  legs. 
It  thus  appears  from  personal  observation  of  typi- 
cal species  in  all  the  tribes,  with  the  exception  of 
the  Laterigrades,  that  the  manner  of  outputting 
the  spinning  stuff  while  weaving  cocoons  is  prac- 
tically the  same.  The  only  difference  observable 
is  confined  to  the  use  of  the  spinnerets  in  beating  fig.  204.  Phidippus  rufus  spin 
down    the    outspun    threads,    these    organs    being  ning  her  cocoon  cover, 

more  freely  used  for  this  purpose  among  the  Tubeweavers  and  Tunnel- 
weavers,  who  possess  long  pairs  of  superior  spinnerets,  than  among  others. 

III. 

Proceeding  now  to   a  comparative  study  of  the  cocooning   industry  of 

spiders,  we   observe,  first,  in   view   of   the   preceding   sections   of 

Smnnine-    ^^^^   chapter,   that   the   general   method   of   spinning   the   cocoon. 

Method.     ^^  ^^  •'^^^  been  observed  in  representative  species  of  all  but  one 

of  the  tribes,  is  substantially  the  same. 

1.  That  method  consists  in  drawing  out  thickened  lines  from  the  spin- 
nerets while  the  body  is  slowly  revolved  around  the  area  to  be  occupied 
by  the  cocoon ;  or,  as  in  Theridium,  the  cocoon  is  revolved  upon  a  sus- 
pensory line.  The  loops  thus  drawn  out  are  about  the  length  of  one-half 
the  distance  between  the  surface  points  to  which  the  cocoon  is  attached 
and  the  point  to  which  the  spinnerets  are  raised  by  the  elevation  of  the 
abdomen.  As  the  spinnerets  drop  after  their  elevation,  the  thread  relaxes, 
curls,  and  thus  a  soft  loop  of  curled  thread  is  left  upon  the  growing 
cocoon  mass.  In  some  cases  this  is  beaten  down  by  the  feet  and  spinner- 
ets, or  spread  over  by  them  as  a  plasterer  spreads  mortar,  until  the  cocoon 


168  AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


case   is  quite  hard.     In  others,  it   is  left   in  the  flossy  condition  in  which 
it  is  originally  spun. 

2.  While  the  general  method  of  spinning  out  the  material,  as  above 
described,  is  that  which    prevails  among  all  Tribes,  the  composition  of  the 

cocoon,  or  general  plan  of  architecture,  may  be  properly  sep- 
ompos  -  g^pg^^g^j  jj^^Q  three  distinct  modes.  In  the  first  the  eggs  are  made 
Cocoons  ^^^  centre  of  operations,  being  first  laid  upon  a  circular  patch, 
covered  by  a  mass  of  continuous  floss,  and  thereafter  usually 
enclosed  within  a  seamless  case  of  thickened  spinningwork.  The  protec- 
tion to  the  eggs  is  thus  a  single  and  unbroken  covering.  This  method 
prevails  among  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers. 

In  the  second  method  the  cocoon  covering  is  spun  in  two  parts.  There 
is  first  woven  a  sheet  to  receive  the  eggs,  and  after  the  eggs  have  been 
overspun  and  swathed  a  second  and  similar  sheet  is  made  as  an  outer 
covering.  This  method  is  the  prevalent  one  among  Tubeweavers,  Salti- 
grades,  and   Laterigrades. 

Cocoons  classified  under  the  second  mode  may  be  subdivided  into  two 
well  defined  groups,  viz.,  first,  those  in  which  the  covering  consists  of  pure 
silk  ;  and,  second,  those  in  which  the  silken  covering  is  strengthened  or 
padded  by  bits  of  gnawed  bark,  sawdust,  and  various  light  chippage, 
daubs  or  pellets  of  mud,  and  sometimes  by  an  entire  coating  of  clay. 
This  mode  of  providing  an  armor  of  extraneous  material  is  most  preva- 
lent with  Tubeweavers,  although  it  occasionally  appears  among  Orbweav- 
ers. Sometimes  the  armor  or  upholstery  is  itself  covered  over  with  an 
exterior  silken  case,  as  with  Agalena  nsevia ;  but  again  it  forms  the  outer 
casing  or  plaster,  as  with  Micaria  limicunaj  and  Clubiona  tranquilla. 

The  third  special  mode  is  that  which  prevails,  one  may  say  almost 
universally,  among  the  Citigrades,  and  which  is  probably  practiced  by  the 
Tunnelweavers  also.  It  consists  in  spinning  a  single  sheet,  within  which 
the  eggs  are  deposited,  which  is  subsequently  pulled  over  the  egg  mass, 
and  pinched  by  the  jaws  into  a  globular  covering,  the  selvage  pi  which  is 
united  with  sufficient  firmness  to  adhere  until  the  spiders  are  ready  to 
leave  the  cocoon,  when  the  seam  yields  sufficiently  to  allow  the  escape  of 
the  inmates. 

3,  A  third  point  of  comparison  is  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  cocoon 
by  suspension   or   attachment.     We   may   divide   the   cocoons   of   all   tribes 

broadly   into    two   classes,    (I.)    hanging   cocoons    and    (II.)    fixed 
...  cocoons.      The   hanging   cocoons    may   be   subdivided   into   those 

(1)  which  are  suspended  within  tlie  snare  and  (2)  those  which  are 
suspended  or  attached  outside  of  or  near  the  snare.  The  latter  class  may 
again  be  divided  into  (a)  those  which  are  suspended  with  external  pro- 
tection and  (b)  those  which  are  suspended  without  external  protection. 

Of  spiders  that  hang  their  cocoons  within  the  snare,  the  Orbweavers 
have  a  number  of  representatives,  as  especially  Epeira  labyrinthea,  Cyclosa 


COMPARATIVE    COCOONING   INDUSTRIES.  169 


caudata,  Epeira  bifurca,  Uloborus  plumipes,  Epeira  basilica.  Among 
Lineweavers  may  be  found  most  of  the  genus  Theridium,  as  T.  tepida- 
riorum  and  T.  studiosum,  Steatoda  borealis,  the  various  species 
Witmn  ^£  Erigone  and  Argyrodes.  The  Tubeweavers  have  numerous 
representatives,  as  it  is  a  quite  general  habit  for  the  species  of 
this  tribe  to  deposit  their  cocoons  within  the  tubular  portion  of  their 
snare,  which  forms  also  a  nest.  Among  the  Territelarise  Atypus  has  the 
same  habit,  so  also  have  the  South  American  species  described*  by  M.  Simpn, 
and  the  immense  creatures  known  as  the  Mygalida?  appear  also  to  nurse 
their  cocoons  within  their  burrows.  This  is  the  custom  of  our  well  known 
Trapdoor  spider,  Cteniza  californica.  Among  the  snareless  Wandering  spi- 
ders, Citigrades,  Saltigrades,  and  Laterigrades,  of  course,  there  are  no  rep- 
resentatives of  this  group. 

Spiders  that  hang  their  cocoons  outside  their  snares  are  largely  repre- 
sented among  Orbweavers.  Indeed,  this  may  be  said  to  be  a  general  habit, 
as  most  of  such  genera  as  Epeira,  Argiope,  Zilla,  Acrosoma,  Tet- 
^  ^  ®  ragnatha,  Nephila,  Meta,  and  Hyptiotes  spin  their  cocoons  sep- 
arately from  their  snares.  The  habit  prevails  also  among  Line- 
weavers,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  habit  of  Theridium  frondeum  in  swinging 
her  pretty  little  orange  colored  cocoon  to  the  under  sides  of  leaves  and 
the  surfaces  of  rocks.  Among  Tubeweavers,  Segestria  canities  of  California 
suspends  her  string  of  clustered  cocoons  outside  her  nest,  although  she 
does  subsequently  spin  a  tubular  cell  alongside  the  cocoon  string,  and 
there  dwells  while  completing  the  process  of  cocoon  making  and  while 
the  young  are  being  reared.  Tegenaria  medicinalis  also  suspends  her  co- 
coon most  frequently  to  some  object,  as  a  log,  or  beam,  or  branch,  out- 
side of  her  snare,  although  sometimes  she  hangs  it  to  the  lower  portion 
of  the  sheeted  pouch  itself,  or  even  interweaves  it  within  the  fibres  of 
the  sheet.  Among  Citigrades,  the  Southern  species,  Pucetia  aurora,  and 
all  the  known  species  of  the  genus  Dolomedes  swing  their  cocoons  not, 
indeed,  outside  their  snares,  since  they  are  Wandering  spiders,  but  in 
special  nests  prepared  for  the  purpose. 

The   spiders   which   attach   their   cocoons   to   fixed   surfaces,   instead   of 

swinging  them  among  interlacing  lines  or  suspending  them  wdth- 

p^^®  in   their   snares,  are   numerous  and   have   representatives   among 

nearly  all  tribes.      Such  is  the  habit  among  Orbweavers,  in  most 

of  the  genera,  as  Epeira,  Zilla,  Gasteracantha,  Nephila,  etc. 

Among  Lineweavers,  species  that  dispose  of  their  cocoons  in  this  way 
appear  to  be  rare,  although  such  a  European  species  as  Theridium  denti- 
culatum  has  this  habit.  ^  Among  Tubeweavers,  the  great  mass  of  spiders 
of  all  or  nearly  all  the  genera  fasten  their  cocoons  to  various  surfaces. 
These   piano   convex   objects   may   be   seen   in   the   autumn,   for   the   most 


^  Staveley, "  British  Spiders,"  page  147. 


170  AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 

part,  attached  to  the  under  side  of  stones  or  spun  within  rugosities  of  the 
bark  of  trees.  They  have  often  bright  colors,  and  are  found  covered 
with  mud.  Among  Saltigrades  and  Laterigrades,  all  species  appear  to 
have  the  habit  of  thus  disposing  of   their  cocoons. 

IV. 

4.  A  fourth    point  of  comparison  is  the  method  of   protecting  cocoons. 
When  we  come  to  consider  the  modes  of  protecting  cocoons,  we  find  much 

variety,  and  the  various  methods  well  represented  among  all 
Protec-  Tribes,  modified  by  differences  in  habit  characteristic  of  the 
1    -R  groups  represented.     The  chief  modes  of   protection  are,  first,  by 

Lines         lines,  within  which    the   cocoons   are   spun   and  which    form   an 

interlacing  barrier  of  threads  around  them.  This  mode  has  many 
representatives  among  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers;  is  occasionally  repre- 
sented among  Tubeweavers,  as  with  Dictyna  and  Segestria ;  occasionally 
among  the  Citigrades,  as  Dolomedes  and  Pucetia ;  but  is  unknown  among 
Saltigrades  and  Laterigrades. 

The  second  mode  of  protection  is  by  leaves,  which  are  drawn  over  the 
cocoons.  .  This  is  either  done  by  attaching  the  cocoon  to  a  single  leaf  and 

then  curling  the   edges   thereof  around  it,  or  by  forming  a  sort 

t'  ^  of  bower  of  several  leaves  united  at  the  points  and  edges,  and 
Leaves.  .  .  o    ; 

spinning  within   this   cavity  a  maze   of   interlacing   lines,  within 

which  the  cocoon  is  hung.  This  method  of  protection  is  well  represented 
among  Orbweavers.  Among  Lineweavers  it  is  seen  in  our  Theridium  dif- 
ferens,  and  in  certain  European  species  of  Theridium,  as  T.  nervosum, 
T.  riparium,  and  T.  lineatum.  Among  Tubeweavers  it  largely  prevails,  Aga- 
lena,  at  least,  practicing  this  method.  Dolomedes  represents  the  Citigrades, 
making  a  beautiful  bower,  within  which  her  cocoon  is  hung.  The  Salti- 
grades frequently  thus  protect  their  cocoons;  and  among  Laterigrades, 
Thomisus,  Sparassus,  and  Philodromus. 

The  third  method    of   protection  is  by  silken  tents  and   tubes.     This  is 
sparingly  practiced   among   Orbweavers.     Among   Lineweavers,  as  far  as  I 

know,  it  is  only  used  when  the  silken  tent  is  enclosed  within  an 
3    Bv 
™'    .         ,  outer  covering  of  leaves.     Among  Tubeweavers  it  has  a  wide  use, 

Tubes.  Herpyllus,  Ariadne,  Drassus,  Clubiona,  and  others  of  like  spin- 
ning habit  practicing  it  probably  without  exception.  I  know  of 
no  Citigrades  that  thus  protect  their  cocoons,  unless  we  consider  the  burrow 
and  home  as  a  cocoon  tent  or  den,  and  it  certainly  does  serve  that  end. 
But  among  the  Saltigrades  the  habit  is  general,  Phidippus,  Attus,  Syna- 
gales,  Synemosina,  and  all  known  genera  protecting  their  cocoons  with  an 
outer  silken  cell,  within  which  the  mother  dwells.  Among  the  Lateri- 
grades, Thomisus  and  Sparassus  have  the  same  habit. 

The  fourth   method   of   protection   is  by  an   armor   of   extraneous  ma- 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING  INDUSTRIES.  171 


terial,  such  as  insect  debris,  plant  chippage,  sawdust,  sand,  and  mud. 
Among   Orbweavers  that   practice   this  method  of  armoring  their   cocoons 

are   Epeira   cinerea   and   Cyclosa   caudata.     I  know  no  American 
'     ^     ^'  representative  among  Line  weavers,  but  there  are  no  doubt  such, 

as  some  English  species  have  the  habit.  Among  Tubeweav- 
ers  the  habit  is  most  common.  The  cocoons  of  Agalena  are  frequently- 
found  upholstered  with  sawdust  and  scrapings  from  bark,  or  bits  of  chip- 
page  plucked  from  surrounding  vegetation.  Clubonia  frequently  plasters 
over  with  mud  her  beautiful  white  cocoon.  Micaria  limicunae  completely 
encloses  her  little  egg  sac  within  a  thick  ball  of  mud.  Others  of  this 
family  make  a  spherical  ball,  composed  of  miscellaneous  debris,  within 
the  heart  of  which  the  cocoon  is  protected.  The  habit  appears  to  have 
secured  no  lodging  among  the  Citigrades  and  Saltigrades,  but  is  practiced 
to  a  limited  extent  by  some  Laterigrades. 

A  fifth  mode  of  protection  is  suspension  within  the  snare.  Some  Orb- 
weavers  have   this  habit,  as  the   Labyrinth   spider,  the  Tailed   spider,  and 

others.     Many  Lineweavers  in  the  genera  Theridium,  Argyrodes, 

5.  Sus-       g^Q^  \hVi%  protect  their  cocoons.     Indeed,  it  is  the  well  nigh  uni- 

?   „  versal   method    in   this   tribe.     Among   Tubeweavers  the   custom 

m  Snares.  -i        i         ■      -f  i         i  i     i         in-  n 

prevails,  that  is,  it   we   consider  the  tubular   dwelling   cell   as   a 

portion  of  the  snare.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the  Territelarise,  as 
Atypus,  Cteniza,  and  the  large  Mygalidse,  who  protect  their  cocoons  within 
their  tubular  dens,  as  do  the  Saltigrades  also.  The  Citigrades  and  Lateri- 
grades, of  course,  have  no  such  habit,  as  they  are  not  snare  making  tribes, 
although  they  make  a  cell  or  den  to  contain  and  shelter  their  cocoons. 

The  sixth  method  of  protecting  the  cocoons  is  by  sentry,  that  is  to  say, 
by  watching  on  or  near  the  cocoon — an  action  to  which  the  term  "  brood- 
ing"  has  sometimes  been  applied.  Of  this  method,  the  Orb- 
Sentrv  weavers  have  representatives  among  the  genus  Epeira,  as,  for 
example,  our  American  Epeira  cinerea  and  several  European 
species,  to  which  may  probably  be  added  Cyclosa  and  Uloborus  and  others 
of  like  habit.  Nearly  all  Lineweavers  may  be  considered  as  practicing 
this  method.  At  all  events,  their  cocoons  are  swung  within  their  snares 
and  the  mothers  are  frequently  found  embracing  them  and  vigorously  re- 
sist any  eifort  to  deprive  them  of  the  treasure.  Among  Tubeweavers, 
many  genera  keep  faithful  watch  on  their  cocoons,  as  Agalena,  Herpyllus, 
and  many  of  the  Drassids.  The  Tunnelweavers,  who  retain  their  cocoons 
within  their  burrows,  may  be  regarded  as  keeping  sentry  upon  them,  and 
the  habit  is  quite  general  among  Saltigrades  and  Laterigrades. 

The  seventh  mode  of  protection  is  by  portage,  that  is,  by  carrying  the 
cocoons  within  the  jaws  or  attached  to  the  spinnerets.  I  know  no  rep- 
resentative of  this  habit  among  Orbweavers.  Among  Lineweavers  the 
habit  is  universal  with  Pholcus,  who  carries  her  cocoon  beneath  her  jaws. 
At   least   one   European   species  of   Linyphia  and   one  of   Theridium  have 


172  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


the  habit  of   deporting  their   cocoons,  like   a  Lycosid,  tied  to  her  spinner- 
ets.    No  Tubeweavers  are  known  to  carry  their  cocoons.     Among  Citigrades 

the  habit  is  universal  with  Lycosids,  and  prevails  with  Dolo- 
7.  By  medes  until  about  the  time  when  the  eggs  are  ready  to  hatch, 
P°Q,  ,'  when  she  discards  the  cocoon  and  deposits  it  within  a  prepared 
of  Stones,  ii^st.     Ctenus   probably  resembles   Dolomedes  in  this  peculiarity. 

The  Territelarise  appear  to  carry  their  cocoons,  although  not  to 
the  same  extent  as  the  Lycosids,  owing  to  marked  difference  in  mode  of 
living.  None  of  the  Saltigrades  or  Laterigrades  are  recorded  as  deporting 
their  egg  sacs,  except  Heterapoda  venatoria,  who  does  so  occasionally.  The 
eighth  method  of  protection  is  sheltering  cocoons  beneath  stones,  bark, 
etc.  This  is  in  use  among  all  the  tribes,  with  the  probable  exception  of 
the  Tunnelweavers. 

The  ninth  and  last  mode  of  protecting  the  cocoon  is  by  simple  suspen- 
sory  lines.      This    seems   to   be   the    simplest    form   of    protection,   and   is 

doubtless  effective  against  such  enemies  as  would  be  apt  to  find 
®-  -^y         the  eggs  if  placed  upon  a  flat  surface,  but  who  would  not  venture 

to  assault  them  if  compelled  to  creep  along  a  fragile  thread. 
Lines.        Among  Orbweavers   few   species   are  known,  but  there  are  some 

European  representatives  of  this  habit.  Cyrtarachne  may  be 
considered  as  thus  providing  for  her  cocoon.  Among  Lineweavers  there 
are  a  number  of  representatives,  our  most  conspicuous  American  one  being 
Theridium  frondeum.  Of  the  Tubeweavers,  Tegenaria  medicinalis,  at  least 
occasionally,  thus  disposes  of  her  cocoons ;  and  among  European  species 
are  Agalena  brunnea  and  others  that  hang  their  flask  like  egg  sac  from 
heather  and  other  plants  by  means  of  a  foot  stalk.  The  other  tribes,  as 
far  as  I  know,  do  not  swing  their  cocoons  free  in  this  manner. 

The  accompanying  table  will  show  at  one  view  the  comparative  preva- 
lence of  these  various  modes  of  protection  among  the  tribes,  as  far  as 
my  observations  and  notes  permit.  It  will  be  seen  from  this  view  that 
all  the  modes  of  protection,  with  the  exception  of  portage,  prevail  among 
Orbweavers  and  Tubeweavers;  that  all  the  methods  are  represented  among 
Lineweavers,  although  some  of  them  appear  to  be  faintly  developed  and 
sparsely  represented  therein. 

V. 

6,  A  fifth  basis  of  comparison  is  the  form  of  cocoons.     The  greatest  va- 
riety obtains  among  Orbweavers.     Round   cocoons,   hemispherical  or  piano 
convex,  pyriform,  or  stalked  cocoons,  with  various  modifications, 
_,  as    illustrated    in    the   accompanying   group,   are   the   forms   that 

commonly  prevail  among  American  Orbweavers.  A  comparison 
with  the  cocoonery  of  European  and  exotic  Orbweavers,  as  far  as  they  are 
known,  shows  that  there  is  a  substantial  likeness  between  them  and  the 
American   spider  fauna. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRIES. 


173 


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174 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Cocoon  Forms  of  Orbweavers. 


Fig.  216.  Fig.  217.  Fig.  218.    Fig.  219.  Fig.  220. 

TUBEWEAVERS. 


Fig.  221.  Fig.  222. 


Fig.  224, 


Fig.  225.  Fig.  226. 

tunnelweavers. 


Fig.  227. 


Fig.  228. 
Laterigrades. 


Fig.  229.  Fig.  230. 

Saltigrade.  Citxgrade. 


Fig.  231. 


Fig.  232.  Fig.  233. 

Comparative  map  of  aranead  cocoon  forms. 


Fig.  234. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRIES.  175 

Next  to  Orbweavers,  the  Lineweavers  exhibit  the  greatest  variety  of 
form.  A  round  or  ovoid  cocoon  is  the  prevalent  form,  but  the  pyri- 
form  is  well  represented  in  this  tribe.  Among  Tubeweavers  the  almost 
universal  form  of  cocoon  is  the  piano  convex  or  hemispherical.  This  re- 
sults from  the  quite  general  habit  of  attaching  the  egg  sac  to  the  surface 
of  some  object.  In  some  cases,  however,  Tubeweavers  suspend  within  their 
nets  a  double  convex  cocoon ;  and,  again,  hang  to  the  foliage  or  other 
surfaces  a  pyriform  cocoon,  as  in  the  case  of  the  European  Agroeca  brunnea. 
Among  Tunnelweavers  there  is  apparently  but  one  form,  as  is  indicated 
by  the  cocoonery  of  the  few  species  known.  This  cocoon  is  a  round  ball 
and  is  in  every  respect  like,  or  at  least  closely  resembles,  that  of  Citigrades. 

The  Citigrades  also  have  apparently  one  form,  a  globular  silken  case 
within  which  the  eggs  are  enclosed  with  little  or  no  padding.  In  numer- 
ous species  of  Lycosa,  Dolomedes,  Cteims,  etc.,  this  form  prevails.  Among 
Saltigrades,  also,  there  is  apparently  but  one  form,  a  hemispherical  or  piano 
convex  cocoon,  attached  to  some  surface,  the  case  being  enclosed  within  a 
soft,  flossy,  or  thick  netted  covering  of  spinningwork.  Among  Laterigrades 
there  is  greater  diversity  than  among  the  last  three  mentioned  Tribes.  But, 
for  the  most  part,  the  cocoons  consist  of  stiff  hemispherical  cases  attached 
to  surfaces  of  rocks  and  trees;  occasionally,  however,  as  in  the  case  of 
Philodromus  and  some  species  of  Thomisus,  the  cocoon  is  a  double  con- 
vex covering  hung  between  leaves  or  twigs. 

It  is  thus  observed  that  the  greatest  variety  and  complexity  of  cocoons, 
as  to  form  and  structure,  are  to  be  found  among  the  Sedentary  tribes.  The 
very  greatest  is  in  the  Orbweavers,  where  the  variety  of  form  is 
^^^  ^  remarkable.  Next  in  order  are  Lineweavers,  although  it  is  pos- 
plexity  sible  that,  if  a  wider  study  of  this  tribe  were  made,  they  might 
be  found  to  approach  more  nearly  the  Orbweavers  in  this  re- 
spect than  we  are  justified  at  present  in  asserting.  The  Tubeweavers 
follow  in  order.  The  Territelarise  are  classed  ordinarily  with  Sedentary 
spiders,  and  many  of  the  species  fully  justify  this  classification,  since,  like 
Atypus,  they  persistently  dwell  within  their  tubes.  But  they  have  also 
many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Wanderers,  and  therefore  we  find  their 
cocoons  approaching  those  of  Citigrades  in  simplicity  of  form. 

In  the  comparative  chart  printed  upon  the  opposite  page  I  have  tried  to  show  at  one 
view  the  typical  forms  of  cocoons  known  to  be  made  by  representative  genera  of  the  va- 
rious tribes.  The  following  is  the  explanation  of  the  chart :  Cocooning  Forms  of  Orbweav- 
ers :  Figs.  205,  206,  Epeira ;  207,  208,  Argiope  ;  209,  210,  Cyrtarachne ;  211,  Epeira  labyrinthea ; 
212,  Epeira  bifurca ;  213,  Tetragnatha ;  214,  Uloborus ;  215,  Cyclosa  caudata.  Lineweavers  : 
216,  Argyrodes  trigonum ;  217,  Theridium  frondeum ;  218,  Steatoda  and  Theridium ;  219, 
Theridium  ;  220,  221,  Theridium ;  222,  Pholcus.  Tubeweavers  :  223,  224,  Agalena,  Drassids ; 
225,  Segestria ;  226,  Micaria  limicunse ;  227,  Tegenaria.  Tunnelweavers  :  228,  Mygalidse,  Eury- 
pelma ;  229,  Atypus ;  230,  Nemesia.  Laterigrades  :  231,  Thomisus,  Xysticus,  and  many 
genera;  232,  Heterapoda  and  others.  Saltigrades:  233,  Attus,  Phidippus,  and  all  genera. 
CmoRADEs:  234,  Lycosa,  Dolomedes,  and  all  known  genera. 


176  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


The  greatest  general  simplicity  of  structure  appears  among  the  cocoons 

of  the  Territelarise,  Citigrades,  and  Saltigrades,  and  the  Laterigrades  nearly 

approach  them  in  this  combination  of  simplicity  and  uniformity. 

rea  es      j^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^j^^^  ^j^^  tribe  which  shows  the  greatest  simplicity 

plicity  ^^^  uniformity  of  cocoon  structure  is  the  Citigrades.  The  in- 
ference may  therefore  be  drawn,  that  the  greatest  general  sim- 
plicity of  structure  exists  among  the  cocoons  of  those  spiders  which  have 
them  most  closely  under  their  personal  care.  It  is  manifest  that  in  the 
case  of  Lycosa  and  other  genera  that  attach  their  egg  sacs  to  their  spin- 
nerets and  carry  them  about  until  their  young  are  hatched,  there  is  less 
necessity  for  complex  cocoonery  to  protect  the  enclosed  eggs  than  in  the 
case  of  Orbweaving  spiders,  like  Epeira  or  Argiope,  who  hang  their  cocoons 
in  the  shubbery  and  leave  them  to  the  watch  care  of  Nature  alone. 

While  this  deduction  is  justified  in  the  general  view  of  the  subject,  it 

must  be   allowed   that    there   are   some    exceptions   which    cannot   well    be 

explained.     For  example,  the  two  cocoons  which  have  absolutely 

X  ep-       ^1^^  simplest  structure  are  made  by  members  of  the  Retitelarise, 

as  Pholcus  phalangioides  and    Steatoda   borealis.     The   egg   bags 

of  the  latter  species   consist  of  a  mere  pinch  of  silk  of  such  sparse  weft 

that   the  eggs   are   plainly  seen   through    them.     Pholcus,  who   carries   her 

cocoon  underneath  her  jaws,  while  she  hangs  continually  upon  her  snare, 

holds   her   eggs  together  by  little   more   than  a  netted  bag  of  scant  spin- 

ningwork. 

One  who  examines,  even  casually,  these  various  forms  will  see  that  they 
are  determined  substantially  by  the  fact  that  the  eggs,  as  they  are  extruded, 
naturally  form  a  spherical   or   hemispherical   mass,  according  as 
-,  they  hang  free  or  are  oviposited  against  some  surface.     Around 

this  mass  the  protecting  spinning  stuff  is  woven,  and  then  the 
external  case.  The  addition  of  a  foot  stalk,  more  or  less  pronounced,  ap- 
pears to  be  determined  by  the  act  of  suspending  the  cocoon  during  the 
weaving  thereof,  and  the  subsequent  covering  in  and  thickening  of  th^ 
suspensory  cord  so  that  the  texture  corresponds  with  the  remainder  of  the 
outer  case. 

The  little  conical  or  pointed  processes  which  characterize  several  cocoons, 
as  those  of  Tetragnatha  and  Uloborus,  probably  originated  in  the  same  way, 
namely,  by  the  attachment  of  suspensory  or  broken  threads  to  various  points 
of  the  external  surface,  the  points  of  attachment  being  thickened  into  little 
pufPs  or  rolls  or  points  of  spinning  stuff. 

The  introduction  of  extraneous  material  as  an  additional  protection  and 
the  encasing  of  the  silken  sack  in  mud,  as  with  Micaria  limipunse,  is  a 
habit  to  be  accounted  for  altogether  outside  of  the  above;  but  the  fact 
that  these  mud  protected  cocoons  preserve  the  general  form  of  the  spin- 
ningwork  which  encloses  the  eggs,  is  undoubtedly  determined  by  the  same 
causes  that  regulate  the  shapes  of  all  other  cocoons. 


COMPARATIVE   COCOONING   INDUSTRIES.  177 


VL 

6.  A  sixth  basis  of  comparison  is  the  multiplex  cocoonery  of  certain 
species.  The  general  habit  among  spiders  is  to  make  but  a  single  cocoon 
at  a  time,  and  most  females  probably  limit  their  maternal  duty 
„  p  to  the  production  of  one  egg  sac.     But  there  are  numerous  ex- 

coons,  ceptions,  which  have  been  noted.  Among  Orbweavers  the  Laby- 
rinth spider,  the  Tailed  spider,  the  Basilica  spider,  and  some 
others  habitually  produce  several  cocoons.  These  are  not  made  contempo- 
raneously, but  are  spun  consecutively,  with  intervals  of  several  days  be- 
tween each  cocoon,  so  that  the  younglings  will  be  hatched  from  the  first 
brood  while  the  last  is  yet  freshly  laid. 

It  is  to  be  noted,  also,  that  even  those  spiders  that  ordinarily  limit 
themselves  to  one  cocoon,  as  Argiope,  under  certain  conditions,  which  are 
not  fully  understood,  produce  two  or  more  cocoons.  Epeira,  when  specially 
nourished,  is  said  to  produce  several.  The  fecundity  of  the  spider  may 
therefore  be  said  to  be  subject  to  variation,  and  the  disposition  to  multi- 
ply cocoons  is  dependent,  more  or  less,  upon  the  fecundity. 

Among  the  Retitelariie  numerous  species  are  found  spinning  several 
cocoons,  the  most  familiar  example  being  Theridium  tepidariorum  and 
Latrodectu^.  The  Tubeweavers  also  have  some  remarkable  representatives 
of  multiplex  cocoonery,  as,  for  example,  certain  species  of  Dictyna  and 
Segestria.  The  cocooning  habits  of  the  Territelarise  are  so  little  known 
that  one  cannot  speak  positively,  but  it  is  probable  that  no  Tunnelweaver 
makes  more  than  one  cocoon. 

Among  the  Wandering  spiders  the  single  cocoonery  which  characterizes 
the  Tunnelweavers  is  the  rule.  I  know  no  Saltigrade  and  no  Laterigrade 
that  produces  more  than  one  cocoon,  although  of  the  former  Staveley  says 
that  Epiblemum  scenicum  makes  one  or  two,  and  of  the  latter  that  Philo- 
dromus  csespiticolis  deposits  two  flattened  cocoons  in  a  large  nest.^  Among 
Citigrades  I  know  no  species  except  Pucetia  aurora ;  this  spider  produces 
at  least  two  cocoons,  that  are  concealed  within  a  little  nest  of  crossed  lines, 
very  much  after  the  fashion  of  that  constructed  by  Dolomedes.  No  doubt, 
however,  a  wider  knowledge  will  compel  us  to  include  other  species  in 
this  group. 

This  summary  of  facts  points  to  these  conclusions :  First,  that  the  three 
Tribes  which  are  by  especial  eminence  Sedentary  possess  the  greatest 
number  of  species  that  make  more  than  one  cocoon.  Second,  that  the 
three  Tribes  that  are  conspicuously  Wanderers  make  but  one  cocoon,  with 
rare  exceptions.  Third,  that  the  Tunnelweavers,  whose  habits  sometimes 
approach  one  group  and  sometimes  another,  but  in  the  matter  of  cocoonery 
resemble  the  Citigrades,  as  regards  multiplex  cocoonery  are  to  be  classed 
with  the  Wanderers,  apparently  limiting  themselves  to  a  single  egg  sac. 

^  "  Brit.  Spiders,"  pages  57  and  85. 


OHAPTEE  YII. 

MATERNAL  INSTINCTS:   MOTHERHOOD. 

In  the  chapters  immediately  preceding  I  have  described  the  various 
devices  and  forms  of  spinning  industry  prompted  by  maternal  instinct 
for  preserving  offspring.  Apart  from  this — the  mere  industrial  or  archi- 
tectural expression  of  motherhood — there  are  some  facts  in  the  natural 
history  of  the  maternal  habit  which  may  perhaps  best  be  considered  in  a 
separate  chapter.  Such,  for  example,  are  the  motives  which  regulate  the 
choice  of  a  cocoon  site;  the  methods  of  ovipositing;  the  measure  of  ma- 
ternal purpose  as  taken  from  the  complexity,  isolation,  or  vigil  of  the 
cocoon ;  the  causes  regulating  the  number  of  cocoons  and  eggs ;  the  motive 
controlling  the  armoring  and  mud  plastering  of  cocoons;  brooding  the 
egg  nest ;  the  degree  of  and  conditions  limiting  the  maternal  anxiety  for 
the  eggs;  and  the  intensity  and  intelligence  of  the  maternal  sentiment. 
These  are  points  of  the  greatest  interest  to  all  naturalists,  and  are  well 
worthy  of  a  far  more  extended  and  philosophic  treatment  than  I  feel  com- 
petent to  give.     But  it  may  be  permitted   me  at  least  to   open  the  way. 

I. 

The  sites  which  spiders  choose  for  their  cocoons  are,  of  course,  largely 
determined  by  their  habitat.  The  cocoons  will  always  be  found  near  by 
the  locality  in  which  the  mothers  have  lived.  Although  some 
Q.,  of  them  do   occasionally  move    from    their    native    centres,   the 

migration  is,  as  a  rule,  extremely  limited ;  and  Orbweavers,  in- 
deed all  Sedentary  spiders,  may  be  considered  as  practically  spending 
their  lives  within  the  narrow  compass  of  the  spot  where  they  chance  to 
pitch  their  first  snare. 

The  favorite  sites  of  Orbweavers  are  bushes,  low  trees,  grass,  weeds, 
the  angles  of  walls  in  the  neighborhood  of  houses  and  outhouses,  and  like 
situations  which  afford  them  facilities  for  hanging  their  snares.  They  are 
frequently  exposed  to  the  full  blaze  of  sunlight;  some  species  appear  to 
love  the  most  open  exposures  in  woodlands ;  others,  again,  shun  the  sun- 
light and  are  found  in  woods  and  forests,  in  obscure  corners,  hollow 
trees,  clumps  of  underbrush,  and  even,  as  in  the  case  of  Meta,  in  caves. 
They  hang  their  nets  along  the  banks  of  streams,  in  glens  and  ravines, 
on  the  seaside,  on  the  lowest  plains  and  prairies,  and  on  the  tops  of  the 
highest  mountains,  as  far  up  at  least  as  the  timber  line  extends.     I  have 

(178) 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  179 


taken  them  on  the  highest  railing  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  in  Rome; 
have  seen  their  round  webs  swinging  against  the  cliffs  of  Mosquito  Mount- 
ain Pass  in  Colorado,  more  than  ten  thousand  feet  high ;  have  found  them 
upon  the  mountains  of  Scotland ;  and  captured  the  British  Epeira  umbra- 
tica  from  snares  spun  against  the  basaltic  columns  of  Fingal's  Cave. 

Their  fixed  positions  are,  of  course,  determined  by  their  ability  to 
obtain   food   therefrom ;    and,  as   their  food   is  insects,  the  limit  of  insect 

life  must  also  be  the  limit  of  spider  life.  For,  although  spiders 
_  .    .,  are  frequently  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  are  carried  great 

distances  when  they  are  young,  during  the  aeronautic  stage,  they 
cannot  long  sustain  themselves  and  propagate  their  species  if  they  chance 
to  fall  upon  positions  where  it  is  difficult  or  impossible  to  obtain  generous 
supplies  of  insect  food. 

In  seeking  a  spot  upon  which  to  place  their  cocoons,  most  Orbweavers 
go  a  little  distance  from  their  snares  and  construct  the  cocoon  against  the 

outer  surface  of  a  bush  or  tree,  rock  or  wall,  or  cover  it  up 
g        , .       within  a  leaf.     As  a  rule,  the  disposition  to  find  a  secluded  spot 

is  quite  manifest,  but  there  are  many  exceptions.  Other  species 
deposit  their  cocoons  within  their  webs,  stringing  them  along  one  of  the 
radii  of  the  orb,  as  in  the  case  of  Uloborus,  Epeira  caudata,  and  Epeira 
bifurca;  or  suspend  them  within  a  maze  of  crossed  lines  which  overhangs 
the  orb,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Labyrinth  spider.  Others,  again,  as  with 
Argiope,  will  frequently  swing  their  cocoons  within  a  specially  prepared 
mass  of  crossed  and  netted  lines,  which  are  hung  to  branches  or  boughs, 
leaves,  or  blades  of  grass. 

What  is  said  of  Orbweavers  as  to  cocooning  site  is  substantially  true 
of  the  other  Tribes,  with,  of  course,  such  variations  as  are  required  by 
essential  differences  of  habit  and  structure.  For  example,  those  Seden- 
tary spiders,  as  the  Lineweavers,  which  suspend  their  snares  in  positions 
quite  like  those  of  Orbweavers,  also  follow  closely  that  Tribe  in  the  gen- 
eral principle  of  selection  for  cocoon  sites.  In  other  words,  they  hang 
their  cocoons  in  some  part  of  their  snare,  or  somewhere  near,  hidden  be- 
neath a  convenient  cover,  or  in  a  neighboring  retreat. 

So  also  many  Tubeweavers,  and  the  Tunnelweavers  even  more  persist- 
ently, attach  their  cocoons  to  some  part  of  their  web,  or  weave  one  of  their 
characteristic  tubes  around  the  egg  case  when  it  is  once  spun.  In  these 
cases  the  cocoon  site  is  pretty  sure  to  be  identical  with  the  dwelling  place 
and  snare. 

Among  Wanderers  the  home  site  has  less  influence  upon  the  cocoon 
site.     As  these   animals   pursue  their   prey  over   a   more   or  less   extended 

range   of  territory,  the   site   of  the  cocoon   is  dependent  on  the 

place  where  the  hour  of  maternity  may  overtake  the  females. 

Wherever  they  happen  to  be,  the  Saltigrades  and  Laterigrades 
will  spin  a  tubular  tent,  enclose  within  it  their  cocoon,  and   there  remain 


180 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


mg-. 


until  the  young  are  hatched.  However,  it  must  be  said  that,  with  Salti- 
grades  at  least,  there  is  a  tendency  before  cocooning  to  prepare  a  perma- 
nent dwelling  tent,  to  which,  when  the  proper  time  approaches,  the  mother 
will  resort  to  deposit  her  eggs.  Lycosids  also  strongly  incline  to  spin  and 
burrow  a  cocooning  house  after  their  kind.  But  inasmuch  as  they  deport 
their  cocoons,  they  are  apt  to  move  about  from  site  to  site  with  their  egg 
bags  dangling  at  their  tails,  stalking  prey  and  bivouacking  in  any  con- 
venient refuge. 

II. 

I  infer  that  female  spiders  habitually  prefer  the  night  or  early  morn- 
ing hours  for  cocooning.     At  least  I  have  never  been  able  to  observe  any 
species   laying   eggs,  although  I  have  frequently  and   quite   per- 
„^^  sistently  watched,  both  in  artificial  and  natural  sites,  with  a  view 

to  such  observation.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  wdthin  the  power 
of  the  female  to  control  the  maternal  function  and  compel  Na- 
ture to  await  her  pleasure  for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  I  cannot 
otherwise  well  account  for  some  experiences  with  my  captives.  Moreover, 
I  have  spent  many  days  during  the  last  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  in  wan- 
dering among  haunts  of  spiders,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  in  our  own 

country  and  Europe,  but  have  never 
once  surprised  a  female  in  the  act  of 
ovipositing.  This  leads  me  to  the  con- 
clusion that  spiders  must  commonly 
choose  the  night  or  early  morning  as 
the  time  for  laying  their  eggs. 

Others,  however,  have  been  more 
fortunate  ;  and,  judging  from  their  ac- 
counts, and  reasoning  from  the  vari- 
ous stages  at  which  I  have  partially 
observed  the  process,  by  putting  the 
pieces  of  observation  together,  we  obtain  a  tolerably  accurate  idea  of  the 
mother  spider's  mode  of  procedure. 

Just  before  cocooning,  the  eggs  will  be  found  massed  within  the  centre 
of  the  abdomen,  the  ovaries  being  so  greatly  distended  as  to  compress  and 
somewhat  displace  the  surrounding  and  adjacent  organs.  (Figs.  235  and 
236.)  They  are  in  this  state  gelatinous -bodies,  but  have  a  spherical  shape 
even  in  their  soft  condition.  They  are  still  jelly  like  objects  when  ex- 
truded from  the  ovaries  along  the  vulval  hook  or  ovipositor,  and  do  not 
harden  until  shortly  after  they  are  laid. 

When  the  mother  is  prepared  to  drop  her  eggs,  and  has  satisfied  herself 
as  to  locality,  the  next  step  is  to  prepare  either  a  little  sheet,  or  dish  shaped 
dish,  or  a  flossy  tuft  of  spinningwork,  against  which  the  eggs  are  posited. 
I  believe  that  this  is  most  frequently  done  upwards  in  the  case  of  females 


Fig.  235.  Fig.  236. 

Fig.  235.  Section  views  of  abdomen,  to  show  loca' 
tion  of  eggs.  Fig.  236.  Same,  with  eggs  removed 
(From  alcoholic  specimen.) 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD. 


181 


Bpeira  strix  placing  eggs  into  a 
flossy  boll  of  silk.    (After  Emerton.) 


who  swing  their  cocoons  free,  as  Argiope  and  Theridium ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  spider  hangs  with  her  back  downward  while  ovipositing.  But  in  many 
cases  of  females  that  have  cocooned  for  me  in  boxes,  the  eggs  must  have 
been  placed  in  the  reverse  position,  since  the 
cocoon  was  attached  to  the  bottom  of  the  box. 
Of  course,  the  species  that  fasten  their 
cocoons  to  various  surfaces,  as  do  many 
Epeiras  and  most  Tubeweavers,  deposit  the 
eggs  downwards.  Other  fixed  cocoons  have  as  ^^^-  237 
manifestly  been  placed  upwards,  as,  for  ex 
ample,  those  spun  on  the  under  surface  of  stones,  fallen  logs,  etc.  Others, 
again,  have  been  laid  while  the  spider  was  in  a  vertical  position,  as  when 
cocooning  upon  loose  bark  of  trees  and  similar  vertical  sites.  The  bodily 
attitude  appears  to  make  little  or  no  difference  as  to  the  facility  with 
which  the  female  can  deposit  her  eggs.  Whether  directing  them  upward 
(with  the  dorsum  towards  the  earth),  or  directing  them  downward  (with 
the  dorsum  towards  the  sky),  or  depositing  them  against  a  vertical  surface, 
with  the  head  downward  or  upward,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  mother  is 
able  to  empty  the  ovaries  with  equal  comfort  and  ease. 

Mr.  Emerton  has  observed  several  species  in  the  act  of  ovipositing,  and 
his  brief  notes  upon  the  manner  thereof  are  as  follows:^  Epeira  strix  first 
spins  a  rounded  bunch  of  loose  threads,  into  the  middle  of  which 
she  discharges  her  eggs,  as  shown  in  Fig.  237.  The  eggs,  which 
are  little  drops  of  jelly,  are  held  up  by  the  loose  threads  until 
the  spider  has  time  to  spin  for  them  a  covering  of  strong  silk.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  the  description  here  is  so  indefinite,  as  the  term  "cov- 
ering of  strong  silk"  may  imply  either  the  flossy  boll*which  is  invari- 
ably found  to  surround  the  egg  mass  of  Epeira,  or  the  smooth  textured 
silken  bag  which  immediately  encloses  the  eggs  and  against  which  the 
flossy  blanketing  is  laid.  When  a  cocoon  of  Epeira  strix  and  others  of 
similar  habit  is  cut  open,  this  silken   encasement  is  invariably  seen,   and 

it  presents  the  appearance  of  having  been 
the  original  substance  against  which  the 
eggs  were  directly  laid. 

The  same  author  has  been  fortunate 
enough  to  observe  the  mode  of  positing 
eggs  with  two  other  tribes.  The  female 
Drassus  (Fig.  238),  spins  a  little  web 
across  her  nest  and  drops  the  eggs  upon 
it.  They  are  soft,  and  mixed  with  liquid, 
and  are  discharged  in  one  or  two  drops,  like  jelly.  They  quickly  suck  up 
the  liquid,   and  become   dry   on    the  surface,   sometimes   adhering   slowly 


Ovipos- 
iting-. 


Fig.  238.    Female  Drassus  in  the  act  of  drop- 
ping eggs.    (After  Emerton.) 


1  Habits  and  Structure,  page  101. 


182  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

together.  After  the  eggs  are  laid,  the  spider  covers  them  with  silk,  draw- 
ing the  threads  over  from  one  side  to  the  other,  fastening  them  to  the 
edges  of  the  web  below.  When  the  covering  is  complete,  she  bites  off  the 
threads  that  hold  the  cocoon  to  the  nest,  and  finishes  off  the  edges  with 
her  jaws. 

Phidippus  galathea    (Attus   mystaceus  Hentz)    spins,   before   laying  her 

eggs,  a  thick  nest  of  white  silk,  usually  on  the  under  side  of  a  stone.     In 

this  she  thickens  a  circular  patch  on  the  side  next  the  stone,  and 

^'         discharges  her  eggs  upward  against  it.    (Fig.  239.)    They  adhere, 

and  are  subsequently  covered  with  white  silk,  after  the  manner 

common  to  Saltigrades.     Mr.  Emerton  had  a  female  of   this  species  that 

deposited  her  eggs  in  confinement ;  he  records  that,  "  instead  of  completing 

the  cocoon  properly,  she  ate  the  eggs  immediately  after  laying  them,"^  a 

breach  of  maternal  fidelity  which  I  believe  to  be  rare  among  araneads,  even 

when  cocooning  in  the  unnatural  conditions  of  a  forced  imprisonment. 

The  eggs  are  deposited  in  a  mass,  cylindrical,  conical,  or  hemispherical, 
individuals   of   which   are   usually   fastened    together  by   a   glutinous   sub- 
stance, but  sometimes  are  deposited  loose,  so  that  they  roll  about 
orni  o      1^  ^-^^  hand  when  the  cocoon  envelope  is  cut.     We  are  indebted 

Hi 0*0*    JVL&SS 

to  Menge  for  the  following  interesting  observation :  After  all  the 
eggs  are  deposited  the  spider  rests  for  a  season,  when  she  commences  to 

draw  threads  over  the  eggs,  as  if  desirous  of 
covering  them  up;  but  it  soon  becomes  clear 
that  something  else  is  to  follow.  After  a  while 
she  returns  to  the  cocoon  and  discharges  a 
T.     „o„    T>.,  ,,•  ,  .V.      T,.  ,  ,  s  clear  liquid  over  the  eggs,  which  is  absorbed 

Fig.  239.     Phidippus   galathea    (Walck.)  ^        .  ,  °^  '  . 

laying  eggs  within  a  silken  cell.  (After  by  them  without  In  any  Way  interfering  with 
Emerton.)  ^j^^  ^^-^^      This  causcs  the   eggs   to    swell  to 

such  an  extent  that  they  could  no  longer  be  contained  within  the  animal. 
Menge  thinks  that   this   fluid   proceeds  from   the  semen  pockets,  which  at 
this  period  are  very  much  enlarged,  and  becomes  mixed  with  the 
. .  male  semen,  so   that   in   reality  the  fructification  of  the  eggs  is 

completed  by  the  female.  The  mother  now  appears  very  much 
exhausted.  She  lays  down  for  a  while  on  the  eggs,  and,  finally,  com- 
mences to  spin  them  over,  entirely  covering  them.^ 

Mr.    Moggridge   had    the    opportunity   to   observe  the   eggs    laid    by   a 

specimen  of  our  Cteniza  californica,  which  was  sent  to  him  from  America 

and  kept  for  a  while  in  captivity.     The  eggs  were  deposited  in 

p,  several   clusters,  at   various   times,  upon  the   under   surface   of  a 

gauze  fastened   upon   the   mouth  of  the   box   in  which  she  was 

imprisoned.     The  first  of  these  groups  was  laid  during  the  night,  between 

^  structure  and  Habits,  pages  99,  100. 

2  Menge,  "Preussische  Spinnen."    The  author  adds  "that  it  takes  patience  and  persever- 
ance to  observe  the  spider  during  this  entire  process,  and  he  had  only  succeeded  twice." 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD. 


183 


Fig.  240.  A,  Cteniza  californica ;  B,  her  trapdoor  nest ;  C,  group  of  eggs,  natural  size ; 
D,  same,  magnified ;  E,  a  second  group,  magnified ;  F,  the  same,  largely  mag^ni- 
fied.    (After  Mogg^ridge,) 


184  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

the  12th  and  13th  of  July,  in  a  cluster  shaped  like  a  raspberry.  The 
eggs  were  grayish  white  or  pale  brown,  and  varied  in  shape  from  globose 
to  oblong.  All  were  very  small,  the  largest  one  half  a  line  in  its  greatest 
length. 

A  fortnight  later,  July  27th,  another  cluster  of  eggs  was  laid,  this  time 
between  the  hours  of  5  and  8  P.  M.  When  the  lamp  was  brought  in  at 
the  latter  hour,  Mr.  Moggridge  perceived  what  he  took  to  be  a  drop  of 
water  hanging  from  the  gauze  covering,  above  and  rather  in  front  of  the 
spider's  door,  the  position  occupied  by  the  clusters  of  eggs  previously 
described.  On  closer  inspection  this  proved  to  be  a  drop  of  pellucid, 
colorless  liquid,  in  which  some  thirty  eggs  floated.  One  egg  was  laid  on 
the  gauze  at  some  distance  from  the  main  group,  and  several  were  also 
attached  to  the  inside  of  the  tin  box.  At  midnight  he  found  that  the 
drop  had  coagulated  and  contracted,  and  by  the  following  morning  the 
mass  was  quite  dry  and  resembled  the  former  group,  only  that  it  was 
not  quite  so  convex.  Some  of  the  eggs  forming  these  clusters  were  much 
larger  than  in  the  preceding  one,  and  one  measured  as  much  as  a  line 
in  length  by  half  a  line  in  breadth. 

Between  the  above  date  and  the  end  of  November,  when  the  spider 
died,  eggs  were  laid  on  seven  distinct  occasions,  namely,  on  July  31st, 
August  11th,  15th,  and  31st  (when  he  found  the  eggs  floating  on  a  drop 
of  liquid,  having  been  deposited  on  the  gauze  between  two  and  half-past 
four  in  the  afternoon),  September  9th  (twenty-three  eggs  laid  on  the 
earth  near  the  entrance  to  the  nest),  September  19th  (about  thirty  eggs 
on  the  gauze),  November  4th  (about  thirty  eggs  on  the  gauze).  Thus, 
between  July  13th  and  November  4th,  this  spider  laid  nine  clusters  of 
eggs,  all  but  one  of  which  were  placed  on  the  same  part  of  the  gauze 
cover,  above  and  a  little  in  front  of  the  door,  and  the  total  number  of 
eggs  deposited  cannot  have  been  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty.  ^ 

Of  course,  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  peculiarities  of  this  female 
in  oviposition,  for  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  manner  of  laying  eggs  in 
disconnected  groups,  at  extended  intervals  of  time,  is  quite  foreign  to  the 
usual  habit  of  the  species.  During  the  long  journey  from  her  native  home 
she  may  have  experienced  a  sliock  resulting  in  a  morbid  condition  of  the 
ovaries.  Undoubtedly,  like  her  congeners,  of  whom  Mr.  Eugene  Simon 
gives  an  account  (see  Chapter  V.),  Cteniza  calif ornica  lays  her  eggs  in  one 
mass,  and  suspends  them  within  her  burrow.  But  the  above  facts  at  least 
show  the  power  of  the  female  to  control  the  function  of  ovipositing,  and 
indicate  that  there  are  certain  irregularities  in  that  function,  more  or  less 
under  the  control  of  the  female,  which  may  give  a  clue  to  the  habitual 
production  by  certain  species  of  several  cocoons,  and  the  occasional  multi- 
plication of  cocoons  by  other  species. 

^  Moggridge,  "  Trapdoor  Spiders,"  Supplement,  page  203  sq. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  185 


III. 

When  the  eggs  are  laid   the  spider   mother  proceeds  to  spin  the  outer 

envelope  by  which  they  are  protected,  and  within  which  the  progeny,  when 

hatched,  may  find  a  comfortable  home  until  sufficiently  matured 

b  ape  o     ^^    begin    life   for    themselves.      This    external    structure    differs, 
Cocoon.  *=        .  ...  ....  ,  ' 

among  various  species,   in  shape,  size,  interior   arrangement,  and 

more  or  less  in  the  character  of  construction.  The  details  of  these  points 
have  appeared  in  the  preceding  chapters,  and  they  form  some  of  the  most 
interesting  features  in  the  life  habits  of  araneads.  The  cocoon  may  be 
described  in  general  terms  as  consisting  of  a  silken  sheet  or  sac  surround- 
ing the  eggs,  a  padding  of  greater  or  less  compactness  above  that,  and  a 
case  of  a  more  or  less  compact  texture  surrounding  the  whole. 

The  shape  of  the  cocoon  appears  to  have  no  special  relation  to  the 
maternal  instinct,  but  is  probably  regulated  by  the  habits  of  the  particular 
species  and  the  character  of  the  cocoon  site  chosen.  It  has  already  been 
seen  that  the  forms,  although  at  first  view  they  seem  to  be  quite  varied, 
may,  by  analysis,  be  reduced  to  the  round  or  hemispherical.  In  other 
words,  the  eggs,  as  they  drop  from  the  spider's  ovaries,  naturally  assume 
a  more  or  less  rounded  form  when  the  cocoon  swings  free;  and  when  ex- 
truded against  a  fixed  surface  as  naturally  form  into  a  hemispherical  mass. 

This  is  simply  the  result  of  the  law  of  equilibrium.  As  the  maternal 
care  is  directed  solely  to  covering  up  and  protecting  the  eggs,  the  shape 
of  the  egg  mass  inevitably  regulates  the  shape  of  the  spinningwork  woven 
around  it.  It  thus  would  seem  that  the  maternal  purpose  is  shown  in  the 
fact  of  enclosing  the  eggs  within  the  cocoon,  and  not  in  the  external  shape 
w^hich  that  cocoon  assumes. 

However,  a  measure  of  maternal  interest  and  intelligence  is  undoubt- 
edly found  in  the  architectural  details  of  the  cocoon.  I  have  shown  (Chap- 
ters IV.  and  V.)  that  these  have  a  tolerably  wide  range;  that 
.,  ,    '    some  cocoons  are  extremely  simple  in  their  structure,  and  others 

Structure  ^^^^^  complex.  To  what  degree  are  these  differences  regulated 
by  maternal  affection  and  intelligence?  This  question  cannot  be 
considered  wholly  from  the  standpoint  of  the  cocoon  structure  itself,  for 
other  elements  enter  into  consideration,  as  the  natural  environment  chosen 
for  a  cocoon  site,  or  the  artificial  environment  prepared  for  it.  That  is  to 
say,  a  cocoon  may  be  quite  simple  in  its  structure,  having  little  spinning- 
work  to  directly  enclose  the  egg  mass,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  Dolomedes, 
have  a  supplementary  protection  of  a  leafy  tent,  and  an  associated  en- 
closure of  intersecting  lines,  which  add  materially  to  the  protection  of 
the  eggs.  Of  course,  in  thinking  upon  the  degree  of  intelligence  and 
affection  exhibited  by  such  a  mother,  the  external  protection  must  be  an 
important  factor. 

What  is  the  relation  between  the  simplicity  or  complexity  of  a  cocoon's 


186  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

construction,  and  the  amount  of  care  which  the  mother  gives  it?  There 
is  much  difference  in  the  extent  of  elaboration  of  cocoons.  The  simplest 
construction  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge  is  that  of  our  com- 
Complex-  ijion  cellar  spider,  Pholcus  phalangioides,  which  surrounds  its 
\J^  f^  1  little  cluster  of  agglutinated  eggs  with  the  barest  filament  of 
Care.  ^^^^  through  which  the  eggs  are  entirely  visible.     This  rude  co- 

coon the  mother  holds  underneath  her  jaws,  and  there  carries  it 
until  the  spiderlings  are  ready  to  hatch  out,  when  they  take  their  place 
upon  the  straggling  lines  at  the  top  of  the  maternal  snare.  Steatoda  bore- 
alis  spins  a  cocoon  scarcely  more  elaborate  than  the  above ;  she  hangs,  it 
within  her  snare  of  crossed  lines  and  stays  near  it.  The  cocoons  of  Lycosa 
and  Dolomedes  are  also  carried  about  by  the  mothers  until  they  are  hatched 
or  nearly  ready  to  hatch.  These  cocoons  are  rather  simple  in  structure, 
consisting  of  a  patch  of  spinningwork  rolled  up  into  a  ball,  without  any 
internal  padding  or  protection  whatever.  The  cocoons  of  many  Tube- 
weavers,  the  Drassids,  for  example,  and  the  cocoons  of  Laterigrade  spiders 
are  simple  parchment  like  textures,  spun  against  a  surface,  and  are  also 
free  from  any  internal  padding  or  external  protection. 

These  spiders  are  in  the  habit  of  watching  their  cocoons,  remaining 
near  them  until  the  little  ones  are  hatched.  Thus  far  it  might  be  said 
that  there  is  some  reason  for  the  conclusion  that  lack  of  complexity  in 
the  structure  of  a  cocoon  is  supplemented  by  additional  vigilance  on  the 
part  of  the  mother  in  watching  the  cocoon. 

Let  us  see  how  it  is  among  Orbweavers.  The  most  complex  cocoons 
are  found  among  these  spiders.  That  of  Argiope,  for  example, 
mong  exhibits  remarkable  regard  for  the  protection  of  eggs  and  young, 
weavers  ^^  ^^®  tough  external  case,  its  thick  lined  padding  of  brown  silk, 
which  nearly  surrounds  the  egg  mass,  and  the  sac  which  con- 
tains it.     Argiope,  as  far  as  known,  never  watches  her  cocoon. 

The  same  is  true  of  most  species  of  the  genus  Epeira,  whose  cocoons 
are  frequently  enclosed  within  a  tent  of  sheeted  spinningwork  or  of  closely 
laid  lines,  and  are  themselves  composed  of  several  layers  of  spinningwork 
of  various  textures.  Most  spiders  of  this  genus  give  their  cocoons  no  care 
after  they  have  made  them.  There  are,  however,  exceptions.  Epeira  cine- 
rea,  for  example,  not  only  encloses  her  eggs  in  a  well  furnished  cocoon, 
but  adds  to  it  scrapings  from  the  bark  of  trees  or  the  dry  wood  surface 
upon  which  the  cocoon  may  be  fastened.  Yet,  according  to  Mrs.  Mary 
Treat,  this  spider  is  extremely  watchful  of  its  cocoon. 

Cyclosa  caudata   provides  the   ordinary  enswathment  for  her  eggs,  and 

adds   to   that   an   exterior   armor   of  the  disjecta  membra  of  in- 

Vie-ils         SQ(i^s  captured   by  her.     Yet  these  cocoons  are  hung  within  her 

snare,  and  during  the  cocooning  season  she  is  found  constantly 

clinging  to  the  end  of  her  cocoon  string.     However,  that  this  contiguity  is 

an  actual  vigil  is  not  proved. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS  :     MOTHERHOOD.  187 

The  Speckled  Agalena  makes  a  cocoon  which  equals  in  its  complexity 
the  most  carefully  prepared  of  the  Orbweavers.  It  not  only  surrounds  its 
eggs  with  several  swath ings  of  silken  material,  but  adds  a  mattress  of  saw- 
dust or  bark  chippings  scraped  from  surrounding  objects.  Yet,  according 
to  Mrs.  Treat,  a  spider  mother  of  this  species  kept  watch  over  her  cocoon 
long  after  the  frosts  of  winter  had  fallen,  it  being  preserved  in  a  suffi- 
ciently protected  spot.  ^  Mr.  Emerton  attributes  to  this  spider  the  habit 
of  remaining  near  her  cocoon  until  she  dies.^  Nevertheless,  my  own  nu- 
merous observations  compel  me  to  believe  that  this  species  gives  an  example 
of  complexity  associated  with  isolation  of  cocoon. 

The  interesting  California  spider,  Segestria  canities,  spins  a  string  of 
ten  or  a  dozen  cocoons,  which  it  suspends  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  maze  of 
crossed  lines,  forming  a  strong  protection,  yet  she  keeps  her  home  in  a 
silken  tube  spun  along  one  side  of  the  cocoon  string. 

Tegenaria  agrestis  of  Europe  makes  a  well  protected  and  cushioned 
cocoon  for  her  young,  yet  she  watches  it  carefully.  The  cocoons  of  all 
known  Saltigrades  are  all  protected  underneath  a  thick  exterior  tent  and 
by  a  stout  case,  but  the  mothers  remain  near,  within  the  cell,  although, 
according  to  Professor  Peckham,^  underneath  an  extra  covering.  Such 
examples  as  Segestria  and  the  Saltigrades  cannot  positively  be  cited  as 
cases  of  cocoon  vigil,  but  at  all  events  the  mother's  domicile  includes  the 
cocoon  within  its  premises. 

The   above  facts  appear  to    indicate,  first,  that   cocoons  which  are  least 

carefully  protected  by  spinning  industry  have  a   supplementary  defense  in 

the  personal  care  of  the  mother;  on  the  other  hand,  second,  that 

„  cocoons  which  are  abandoned  as  soon  as  made,  and  are  entirely 

ference.  .  i    i         ,  *, 

without   maternal   sentry,  are   protected    by  elaborate    structures ; 

but,  third,  in   some   cases   the   complex   structure  and   the  maternal  vigil 

exist  together. 

IV. 

Orbweavers  differ  among  themselves  as  to  the  number  of  cocoons  spun 
by  females.  Certain  species,  as  the  Tailed  and  Labyrinth  spiders,  habitu- 
ally spin  several  cocoons ;  others,  again,  as  most  Epeiras,  ordi- 
Multifold  narily  spin  but  one.  This  habit  must  be  subject  to  some  va- 
.  riations,   the  reasons  for  which  are  not  clear.     Epeira  apoclisa, 

according  to  Lister,  lays  three  and  even  four  cocoons  in  the  period 
of  a  little  more  than  two  months.  Termeyer  makes  the  statement  that 
Epeira  diademata,  when  well  fed,  will  make  six  cocoons. 

Several  years  ago  a  ministerial  acquaintance.  Rev.  P.  L.  Jones,  brought 
me  two  cocoons  of  the  Basket  Argiope,  both   of   which,  he  affirmed,  had 

1  "My  Garden  Pets,"  page  18.  ^  New  England  Drassidse,  page  200,  (36). 

*  Letter  to  the  author. 


188  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 

been  made  by  a  single  mother.  It  struck  him  as  a  strange  circumstance, 
and  he  reported  the  fact  to  me.  Only  recently  Mrs.  Mary  Treat  has  pub- 
lished a  description  of  what  she  considers  a  variety  of  this  spider,  Argiope 
multiconcha,^  which  habitually  makes  as  many  as  four  and  sometimes  five 
cocoons.  I  have  one  of  these  strings,  which  was  made  in  a  kitchen  where 
a  great  cooking  stove  was  in  almost  constant  use  to  supply  the  demands 
of  a  large  family.  It  contains  four  cocoons,  which  were  hung  close  to 
each  other,  and  precisely  in  the  manner  of  those  of  Basket  Argiope,  which 
they  exactly  resemble.  The  habitat  of  this  spider,  as  far  as  now  known, 
is  Missouri.  The  animal  itself  differs  very  little  from  Cophi- 
Arg-iope  nj^ria.  Unfortunately,  the  one  specimen  that  I  have  seen  was  so 
,  much  dried  up  that  it  could  not  be  figured,  nor  could   any  dis- 

tinctive features  be  readily  traced ;  but  it  seems  to  differ  in  no 
essential  respect  from  Cophinaria.  Thus,  the  interesting  question  emerges, 
what  are  the  conditions  controlling  this  function  in  this  spider?  It  can 
hardly  be  quantity  of  food,  as  with  Termeyer's  Diademata.  If  it  be  qual- 
ity, upon  what  meat  does  this  aranead  feed,  that  she  should  so  excel  her 
congeners  in  cocooning  industry?  A  tropical  spider,  Argiope  aurelia,  it 
may  here  be  stated,  according  to  Mr.  Pollock,  makes  ten  cocoons. 

V. 

The  number  of  eggs  within  cocoons  differs  very  much  in  different  spe- 
cies, and  even  among  different  individuals  of  the  same  species.  Walckenaer 
reports^  that  Epeira  diademata  has  been  found  by  him  to  con- 
„  ^  tain  from   three  to   four   hundred    eggs,  and   again  from  six  to 

eight  hundred,  a  wide  range  of  difference  certainly.  I  have 
counted  as  many  as  eleven  hundred  and  ten  young  spiders  in  the  cocoon 
of  one  Argiope  cophinaria,  and  eleven  hundred  and  fifty-two  spiderlings 
in  another;  and  this  is  probably  near  the  normal  number.  Some  females 
lay  many  less;  as  low,  at  least,  as  one  hundred  and  fifty.  The  Peckhams 
give  the  number  of  eggs  laid  by  this  species  as  varying  from  five  hundred 
to  twenty-two  hundred.  According  to  Staveley,  the  cocoons  of  Argyroneta 
aquatica  range  from  forty  to  one  hundred  in  number. 

The  reasons  for  this  varying  fertility  are  not  certainly  known.  They 
depend,  no  doubt,  upon  the  female's  vital  condition.  A  full  measure  of 
health  and  abundant  nutrition  doubtless  conduce  to  the  normal  number 
of  eggs,  and  this  is  probably  diminished  by  physical  weakness  and  lack  of 
nourishment.  I  believe  also  that  the  conditions  surrounding  the  spider 
influence  the  number  of  eggs,  for  females  in  artificial  confinement  seem  to 
deposit  fewer  than  those  in  natural  habitat. 

Spiders  that  make  a  number  of  cocoons,  as  a  rule  deposit  few  eggs  in 
every  one,  so  that  the  aggregate  of  eggs  laid  is  about  equal  to  the  number 

'  See  "American  Naturalist,"  December,  1887,  page  1122.        ^  Aptdres,  Vol.  I.,  page  154. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  189 

in  the  single  cocoon  of  other  species.  The  Labyrinth  spider  lays  from 
sixty  to  eighty  eggs.  The  Tailed  spider  about  the  same.  The  Bifid  spider 
an  aggregate  of  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  all  her  cocoons. 
There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  number  of  eggs  contained  in  the  sev- 
eral cocoons  in  one  brood  or  cocoon  string,  as  though  the  female  issued  an 
unequal  number  of  eggs  at  the  various  periods  of  ovipositing. 

In  tribes  other  than  Orbweavers,  the  various  species  show,  the  same 
differences  in  the  number  of  eggs  contained  within  their  cocoons ;  for  ex- 
ample, Tegenaria  medicinalis  has  about  sixty  eggs;  Agalena  nsevia,  a  hun- 
dred or  more ;  Dysdera  bicolor,  twenty  to  thirty.  Walckenaer  reports  Aga- 
lena labyrinthea  to  contain  sixty  eggs ;  Tegenaria  domestica  from  sixty  to 
one  hundred  and  eighty;  Dolomedes  mirabilis,  one  hundred  to  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty ;  Lycosa  narbonensis,  five  to  six  hundred ;  Lycosa  agrestis, 
one  hundred  and  eighty,  Dysdera  hombergii  (Staveley)  lays  from  twenty 
*to  thirty  eggs. 

It  perhaps  may  be   said,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  number  of  eggs 
deposited  by  any  species  corresponds  with  the  size  thereof.     Thus  we  have 

seen  that  our  large  Argiope  will  lay  as  many  as  twenty-two  hun- 
•M^ty?        dred   eggs.     Westring  counted   eight   hundred   eggs   in   a  cocoon 

of  Epeira  quadrata;^  Epeira  diademata  will  lay  as  high  as  eight 
hundred  eggs.  Both  of  these  are  large  species.  The  great  tarantula,  My- 
gale  blondii,  deposits  as  many  as  three  thousand  eggs.  On  the  contrary, 
we  find  such  a  diminutive  Saltigrade  species  as  Synagales  picata  laying 
but  three  eggs,  while  Phidippus  morsitans,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Salti- 
grades,  lays  one  hundred  and  eighty  eggs,  thus  being  one  of  the  most  fer- 
tile species.^  The  Lineweaver  Theridium  variegatum  has  six  eggs  in  her 
cocoon.  Oonops  pulcher  makes  several  cocoons,  and  deposits  two  eggs  in 
each  one.^  The  cave  spider  Anthrobia  mammouthia  lays  from  two  to  five 
eggs,  M'hile  another  cave  species,  Nesticus  pallidus,  deposits  from  thirty  to 
forty.  ^  It  will  thus  be  found,  I  think,  that  small  and  feebly  organized 
species  tend  to  deposit  a  smaller  number  of  eggs,  although  there  are  some 
marked  exceptions  to  this. 

The   Peckhams  give    some  interesting    suggestions  as  to   the  relations 
between  fertility  and  exposure  to  peril.     For  example,  the  fact  is  pointed 

out  that  while  Argiope  cophinaria  is  sufficiently  well  protected, 

Fertility    j^^j.  cocoons  are  exposed  to  serious  loss  through  the  assaults   of 
a.nd.  Ex- 

ichneumon    flies,   and,   perhaps,   also    through    exposure    to    the 

weather.      Professor  Wilder   suggests   that   the   immense   fertility 

of  Nephila  plumipes  is  counterbalanced  by  the  destruction  of  its  cocoons, 

which  are  so  placed,  depending  from  leaves,  that  great  numbers  of  them 

are  washed  away  and  destroyed  by  rains. 

The  little  Attid  spider  Synagales  picata  lays  three  eggs.     Yet,  beyond 

^  Aranese  Svecise,  page  31.  ^  The  Peckhams.  ^  Staveley.  *  Packard. 


190  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the  fact  that  it  is  small  and  dark  colored,  this  species  has  absolutely 
nothing  to  protect  it  but  the  resemblance  which  it  bears  to  an  ant.  Can 
this  alone  give  the  species  so  great  advantage  that  it  is  able  to  maintain 
itself  with  as  low  a  birth  rate  as  three  or  four  in  a  season?  Considering 
the  direct  relation  between  mortality  and  multiplication,  it  is  plain  that 
no  species  could  maintain  itself  at  a  low  birth  rate  were  not  its  mortality 
correspondingly  low.  It  must  then  either  practically  have  no  enemies, 
or  its  means  of  protection  from  enemies  must  be  uncommonly  efficacious.^ 
I  state  this  theory  without  giving  assent  to  it,  and  add  the  simple 
remark   that  this   species,   or   an   Eastern   species   which   greatly   resembles 

it  in  mimicry  of  ant  forms,  makes  a  cocoon  of  precisely  the 
Mimicry  g^me  character  and  protected  in  the  same  way  as  that  of  Phi- 
P    f  rt      dippus  morsitans,  one  of  the  most  fertile  species  among  the  At- 

tidfB.      Undoubtedly,  cocoons  of  one  species  are   exposed   to  the 
same  dangers  as  those  of  the  other.     Whatever  advantage,  therefore,  Syn-* 
agales  possesses  in  the  way  of  protection   is   limited   to   the  mature  form, 
and  does  not  accrue  to  the  eggs. 

VI. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  character  of  maternal  solicitude  as 
shown  by  female  spiders  in  the  vigil  of  their  cocoons.  It  is  beyond 
doubt  that  many  species  do  guard  their  egg  sacs  with  more  or 
„.   .,  less  constancy  during  the  period  of  hatching.     The  term  "brood- 

ing" has  been  applied  to  this  action,  but,  of  course,  is  inexact, 
and  only  implies  that  the  mother  remains  near  or  sometimes  roosts  upon 
the  cocoon,  and,  it  is  inferred,  exercises  some  sort  of  protection  against 
the  numerous  enemies  which  assail  the  eggs. 

Mrs.  Treat  2  has  observed  that  Epeira  cinerea  broods  her  cocoons  for 
a  couple  of  weeks,  and  then  drops  dead  from  her  maternal  watch.  Cer- 
tainly she  has  good  occasion  for  thus  mounting  guard,  for  of  several 
cocoons  received  from  that  lady,  every  one  was  infested  by  parasitic  ich- 
neumons, whose  white  pupa  cases  occupied  portions  of  the  egg  padding. 
I  have  never  observed  an  orbweaving  spider  in  what  I  could  consider 
an  actual  state  of  brooding  her  egg  nest,  although  I  have  sometimes  seen 
female  Orbweavers  clinging  to  cocoons  apparently  lately  made.  This  po- 
sition seems  to  me  to  be  rather  due  to  indisposition  to  leave  the  vicinity 
after  the  exhausting  task  of  spinning "  and  enswathing  her  eggs.  But 
various  observers  attribute  the  habit  of  brooding  to  some  of  the 
Epeiroids  of  England.  So,  also,  Menge,  speaking  of  the  egg  nest  of 
Epeira  diademata,  says  that  the  spider  literally  guards  it  with  her  life. 
It  is  spun  under  a  horizontal  stem  beneath   the  bark  of  trees,   or  under 

^  "Observations  on  Sexual  Selection,"  page  74,  sq. 
*  Communication  to  the  author. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  191 


fallen  leaves,  which  are  attached  to  the  ground  and  covered  with  strong 
threads.      The   mother   lies   down   upon    her  cocoon,   never    leaving    it    to 
take  nourishment,  thus  starving  herself  to  death  in  two  or  three 
Bpeira       weeks.  ^     This  author  makes  a  like  statement  concerning   Singa 
.  albovitata.     The  phrase  "  starving  herself  to  deatli  "  must,  how- 

ever, be  taken  in  a  figurative  sense,  for  the  fact  is  not  one  of 
maternal  sacrifice,  but  the  inevitable  debt  of  Nature  after  the  maternal 
functions  are  fulfilled. 

Notwithstanding   the   above   statements,   I   must   say   that   I   have    met 
with  no  evidence  that  any  mother  spider,  during  so  called  brooding,  ever 
actively  exercised  herself  to  protect  her  eggs  against  assault  of 
Q  . ,  hymenopterous  or  other  natural  enemies.     I  once  watched  a  fe- 

male Herpyllus  ecclesiasticus  during  more  than  two  weeks'  vigil 
of  her  cocoon.  She  never  appeared  to  leave  the  vicinity  of  her  button 
like  egg  nest,  which  lay  near  a  crevice  into  which  she  frequently  retired, 
and  indeed  was  apt  to  retire  at  the  sign  of  any  disturbance  made  by  my- 
self. Sometimes  she  had  her  station  upon  the  cocoon,  embracing  it  with 
her  legs,  but  during  all  this  period  I  failed  to  see  the  approach  of  any 
natural  enemies,  and  therefore  was  not  able  to  record  the  fact  that  this 
vigil  resulted  in  any  practical  benefit  to  her  embryo  progeny. 

With  few  exceptions,  of  which  some  have  been  noted,  and  which  seem 

to    me    to    have    doubtful    features,  Orbweavers   hold    no   vigil    over    their 

cocoons.     As    a   rule   the   whole  wealth    of   maternal   care  is  ex- 

pended  upon  the  elaboration  of  the  egg  covering,  after  which, 
■weaver      f  ^    .  °°  °' 

Vigils.        ^^  most  species,  cocoon  and  eggs  are  abandoned  to  the  foster  love 

of   Nature  while   the   mother   goes   away  about   her  business  of 

food  gathering  or  falls  upon  death.     It  may  be  thought  that  those  species 

which  make  several  cocoons  present  an  evident  exception,  as  in  the  cases 

of  Epeira  basilica,  caudata,  bifurca,  and  labyrinthea,  whose  cocoons  are  hung 

within   their   snares.     But  I   have  not  been  able  to   obtain  any   evidence 

that  the  cocoons  of  these  species  receive  special  maternal  care  in  the  way 

of  personally  protecting  them  from  enemies,  or   aiding  the  young  within 

them  to  make  their  egress,  or  looking  after  the  brood  when  escaped  from 

the  cocoon. 

Caudata  may,  indeed,  often  be  seen  hanging  to  the  lowest  cocoon  of  her 
series,  suspended  along  the  vertical  axis  of  her  orb ;  but  that  is  the  natural 
fi  JO.  position  for  the  spider  under  ordinary  circumstances,  and  it  may 
have  been  assumed  simply  for  convenience.  I  have  never  seen 
the  slightest  indication  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  the  little  mother  to 
mount  from  the  lowest  to  the  higher  and  highest  ones  of  the  string  with 
a  view  to  protect  them  or  oversee  them. 

In    the   case   of    Labyrinthea   I   have   little   doubt   in   saying  that   she 

^  "Preussische  Spinnen,"  sub  Epeira  diademata. 


192  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

exercises  no  care  at  all  upon  her  cocoon  string.  This  is  ordinarily  stretched, 
as  may  be  seen  by  consulting  Chapter  IV.,  page  100,  at  a  position  some- 
what removed  from  her  ordinary  nesting  site.  It  is  true,  her  silken  tent 
is  sometimes  spun  just  beneath  the  lowest  of  the  several  cocoons  which 
she  strings  in  a  line  one  above  another.  But  even  in  this  case  I  have  no 
evidence  that  she  exercises  a  personal  vigilance  upon  them,  or  protects 
them  in  any  way. 

The  known  species  of  Uloborus  also  suspend  their  several  cocoons 
along  one  of  the  radii  of  their  horizontal  orbs.  Hentz,  indeed,  says  that 
Uloborus  mammeata^  watches  her  cocoon  with  incredible  perse- 
'verance,  and  shows  great  courage  in  attempting  to  defend  it 
against  human  disturbances.  Fear  seems  to  be  wholly  merged  in  maternal 
solicitude,  and  as  soon  as  the  cocoon  is  torn  from  its  place,  the  mother, 
having  remained  firmly  attached  to  it,  proceeds  to  secure  it  with  new 
threads.  I  have  observed  similar  behavior  on  the  part  of  Theridioid 
spiders,  who  hang  their  cocoons  within  the  limits  of  their  snare,  and  may 
sometimes  be  seen  embracing  them  or  stationed  near  them. 

Even  this  account  may  fail  to  assure  one  that  the  mother  would  have 
repelled  the  attacks  of  natural  enemies,  and  that  she  benefited  her  off- 
spring by  her  stubborn  keeping  to  her  post.  Nevertheless,  it 
Protect-  seems  to  me  a  legitimate  inference  that  the  exercise  of  such 
ij®  maternal  patience  in  vigil,  and  energy  and  courage  in  resisting 

attempts  to  rob  her  of  her  treasure,  indicate  a  purpose  to  pro- 
tect the  cocoon  from  natural  enemies.  Why  does  the  mother  so  per- 
sistently maintain  her  position  close  by  her  cocoon  ?  Why  is  she  ready 
to  undertake  even  such  a  hopeless  venture  as  maintaining  her  egg  sac 
against  the  tremendous  odds  of  a  raiding  naturalist?  These  questions 
appear  to  me  to  have  but  one  answer.  Motherhood  is  on  guard  beside 
the  cradle  of  her  young,  moved  by  a  natural  impulse  to  protect  them 
from  the  possibilities  of  natural  peril.  Even  though  no  one  has  yet  seen 
or  recorded  the  actual  defense  of  the  vigilant  mother  against  such  enemies 
as  ichneumon  flies,  egg  loving  spiders,  etc.,  the  circumstantial  evidence 
seems  to  be  good  that  such  defense  must  often  occur. 

It   is   know^i   that   outside   of  the   Orbweavers   some   species   of   spiders 

do   persistently  brood  their  egg  nest,  or   rather   keep   a   close   watch   upon 

them  until  they  are  hatched.  I  have  already  intimated  that  I 
Other  ...  .        . 

_  .,  have  seen  this  quite  in  detail,  with  Hentz's  Herpyllus  ecclesias- 

ticus,  and  I  have  observed  the  same  fact  with   Dolomedes  tene- 

brosus.      Mrs.   Treat    notes    the    habit   of    a   Thomisoid    mother,    probably 

Misumena  vatia,   to    remain    near   her   cocoon,  watching   it    with   untiring 

patience  until  the  young  are  hatched.     Hentz  also  speaks  of  this  species'^ 

as  watching  its  cocoon  until  the  eggs  are  hatched. 

^  Spiders  of  United  States,  page  129.  ^  Thomisus  fartus,  "Spiders  U.  S.,"  page  78. 


PLATE    II 


\r^l 


MIMICRY   OF    ENVIRONMEr^^T. 

1,   2,    MISUMENA    VATIA.  3,   A    LaTERIGRADE    ON    BARK.         4,    EPEIRA   STRIX.  5,    EPEIRA    PARVULA   ON 

LICHEN,    AFTER    PECKHAMS.         6,  TeTRAGNATHA    EXTENSA   AND   THE    ORCHARD    SPIDER.         7.    PURSE 
WEB    SPIDER'S    TUBE. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  193 

Theridium  studiosnm,  when  its  web  is  destroyed,  does  not  abandon 
the  cocoon,  which  is  orbicular  and  whitish  and  is  placed  in  the  central 
part  of  the  web.  The  mother  then  grasps  it  with  her  mandibles  and  de- 
fends her  progeny  while  life  endures.  Her  maternal  solicitude  is  not 
limited  to  her  cocoon,  but  she  also  takes  care  of  her  young,  making  a 
tent  for  their  shelter  and  remaining  near  them  until  they  can  protect 
themselves.^ 

Toward  the  last  of  July  the  female  Turret  spider  appears  at  the  top 
of  her  tower  with  a  cocoon  of  eggs,  about  as  large  as  a  hazel  nut,  at- 
tached  to   the   spinnerets.     She   exercises   the   greatest  cafe  over 

Mother      j^gj.  cocoon.     On  cool  days  she  keeps  it  out  of  sight  down  in  her 

Turret  .        .  •         .  •  .  . 

Q  . ,  tube,  which  is  about  eight  inches  in  depth,  including  the  tower. 

But  when  Mrs.  Treat  set  the  jar  in  the  centre  the  mother  spider 
soon  came  up  and  put  the  cocoon  in  tiie  sunshine.  When  the  weather  was 
cool  enough  for  fire  in  the  room,  if  the  jar  were  placed  near  the  fire  the 
spider  placed  her  eggs  on  the  side  next  the  stove.  If  the  jar  were  then 
turned  around,  the  mother  presently  moved  the  cocoon  around  to  the  warm 
side,  letting  it  hang  outside  of  the  walls  of  her  tower.  On  the  Gth  of 
October  the  young  spiders  were  hatched,  and  at  once  perched  upon  the 
mother's  back,  and  even  on  her  head  and  legs.  She  carried  her  cocoon 
two  months  before  the  eggs  hatched. 

The  Lycosid  Oxyopes  viridans  makes  a  conical  cocoon  having  small 
eminences,  to  which  are  attached  the  threads  that  hold  it  suspended  firmly 

in  the  air.  After  it  is  finished  the  mother  watches  it  constantly, 
*  never  leaving  its  unprotected  family.  ^  Professor  Hentz,  speak- 
ing of  the  general  maternal  instincts  of  the  Lycosids,  says  that  the  mother 
defends  her  progeny  to  the  last,  and  her  feet  can  be  torn  from  her  one 
by  one  before  she  can  be  compelled  to  abandon  her  treasure.  Thus  can 
maternal  tenderness  be  exhibited  in  beings  which  are  relentless  to  their 
own  species,  and  even  to  the  sex  which  gives  life  to  its  progeny.^  I  must 
say  that  my  own  experience  gives  no  such  examples  of  persistent  devotion 
under  attempts  to  separate  Lycosids  from  their  cocoons.  If  the  female  of 
Lycosa  lenta  be  caught  or  wounded,  the  little  ones  escape  rapidly  in  all 
directions,  but  the  mother  is  faithful  to  her  duties  and  defends  her  progeny 
while  life  endures.* 

A  female  of  Dolomedes  albineus  was  captured  by  a  child,  who  trans- 
fixed her  cephalothorax  with  a  pin.     The  creature  was   placed  in  a   glass 

jar,  and   the  wound,  instead   of   proving   mortal,  healed   rapidly. 
°  5*'         After   remaining  inactive  about  three  davs,  the  spider  made  an 

orbicular  cocoon  of  light  brown  color,  in  which  her  eggs  were 
placed.  She  held  it  constantly  grasped  in  her  mandibles,  and  seemed  in- 
tent on  watching  it  to   the  last;   but  the  effort  of  cocooning  once  made, 

^  Hentz,  id.,  page  106.  *  Id.,  page  48.  ^  Id.,  page  25.  *  Id.,  page  28. 


194  AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

her  strength  failed.  The  wound  opened  again,  and,  the  fluids  running 
freely,  she  gradually  lost  her  muscular  power.  But  faithful  to  her  duties, 
the  last  thing  which  she  held  was  the  ball  containing  her  future  family. 
Can  maternal  tenderness  be  more  strikingly  exhibited  ?i 

Dr.  T,  W.  Harris,  whose  work  on  "Injurious  Insects"  is  well  known, 
found  in  Massachusetts  a  female  Dolomedes  lanciolatus  on  a  large,  irreg- 
ular, loose  horizontal  web,  at  one  extremity  of  which  was  situated  her  egg 
bag  with  her  young,  which  the  parent  appeared  to  be  watching. ^  Micro- 
mata  marmorata  remains  constantly  by  its  round  white  cocoon,  which  it 
embraces  closely  with  its  long  legs,  while  it  hangs  suspended  by  one  thread 
in  the  middle  of  its  snow  white  tent. 

Many  British  spiders  have  the  same  habit  of  caring  for  their  cocoons.^ 
The  female  of  Philodromus  caespiticolis  conceals  herself  with  usually  two 
flattened  white  cocoons  in  the  large  nest,  which  she  forms  upon 
„  ,     the  end  branch  of  some  shrub,  drawing  the  leaves  into  a  con- 

venient  position  with  silken  threads,  which  form  a  close  tissue 
of  a  somewhat  gray  color.  The  cocoons  are  frequently  of  unequal  size, 
the  largest  being  about  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter.  If  the  cocoon  be 
touched  the  mother  will  not  take  flight,  but  will  defend  it  with  all  her 
power.  "* 

Drassus  ater  makes  a  piano  convex  cocoon,  which  is  attached  by  its 
flat  side  to  a  stone  or  other  substance,  on  which  the  cell  is  formed.  This 
cocoon  is  white  or  slightly  yellowish  at  first,  and  afterwards  becomes  red- 
dish in  color.  The  female  remains  on  guard  by  her  eggs.^  The  female 
of  Drassus  lapidicolens  conceals  herself  in  a  cell  formed  between  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  and  the  under  side  of  a  stone,  near  which  she  spins  some 
threads,  forming  an  irregular  snare.  In  this  cell,  in  the  month  of  July  or 
August,  she  places  her  cocoon,  covering  it  with  dead  leaves.  This  cocoon 
is  at  first  in  the  form  of  a  flattened  sphere,  but  becomes  nearly  round 
when  the  young  are  about  to  escape.  It  is  white,  and  about  half  an  inch 
in  diameter.  The  mother  remains  with  her  young  for  some  time  after  the 
eggs  are  hatched.^ 

Clubiona  holosericea  makes  a  white  flattish  cocoon  one-fourth  inch  in 
diameter  in  June,  and  places  it  in  a  long  tube  shaped  cell,  formed  on  the 
under  side  of  a  leaf,  or  in  some  crevice,  as  of  the  bark  of  a 
*  tree.  The  female  remains  in  this  cell  except  when  she  leaves  it 
to  pounce  upon  an  insect  passing  near  its  opening,  and  which  she  carries 
into  the  cell.  The  cell  is  divided  into  two  chambers,  in  which,  in  the 
month  of  June,  male  and  female  may  be  found  each  occupying  one.  The 
spider  is  timid  until  she  becomes  a  mother,  when  she  will  face  any  danger 
rather   than   abandon   her   cocoon.      Before   that   time,  if   driven  from  her 


1  Hentz,  page  39.  "^  Id.,  page  41.  "  Staveley,  British  Spiders,  page  168. 

*  Id.,  page  85.  ^  \^^  p^ge  91.  e  j^^^  p^gg  97. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  195 


cell,  she  falls  to  the  earth  without  drawing  a  line  with  which  to  suspend 
herself,  feigns  death  for  some  time,  and  then,  making  a  rapid  flight,  sets 
to  work  to  build  a  new  house  in  a  fresh  place.  ^ 

VII. 

Mrs.  Mary  Treat,  in  a  little  work  designed  for  popular  use  entirely, 
gives  several  extraordinary  examples  of  maternal  care  on  the  part  of 
spiders.  One  of  these  was  a  female  of  Dolomedes  scriptus,  which 
Special  f^j.g^  attracted  attention  by  the  fact  that  she  was  carrying  a  bag 
J,  .,  of  eggs  about  the  size  of  a  small  cherry,  with  which  she  planted 

Care.  herself  on  top  of  a  leaf  nest  of  a  Shamrock  spider  (Epeira  tri- 

folium).  One  morning  Dolomede  was  missed  from  her  accus- 
tomed place,  but  upon  searching  some  adjoining  ferns  the  characteristic 
cocoon  tent  of  the  species  was  discovered.  It  was  three  or  four  inches 
in  length  and  from  two  to  three  in  breadth,  composed  of  ferns  bent  over 
and  fastened  together.  Through  one  of  the  openings  between  the  leaves 
the  cocoon  was  seen  suspended  from  the  ceiling,  precisely  as  I  have  myself 
observed  it,  and  as  is  represented  in  the  sketch  Fig.  177,  Chapter  V. 

In  two  or  three  days  thereafter  the  young  Dolomedes  were  hatched 
and  swarming  all  over  the  outside  of  the  cocoon.  When  the  leafy  domi- 
cile which  enclosed  them  was  touched  the  little  ones  ran  down  the  lines 
in  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Treat's  finger,  as  if  they  expected  something,  and 
reminded  the  observer  of  young  birds,  which  always  open  their  mouths 
to  be  fed  whenever  they  are  approached  by  a  human  being,  not  having 
yet  learned  to  recognize  their  parents. 

This  behavior  led  Mrs.  Treat  to  suspect  that  the  youngling  spiders  were 
fed  by  their  mother,  and  she  accordingly  kept  watch  upon  the  colony. 
One  evening,  not  long  afterwards,  the  mother  Dolomede  was  seen 
'  with  a  large  fly  in  her  mandibles  taking  long  strides  in  the 
Young.  direction  of  her  domicile.  She  was  soon  inside,  and  the  little 
ones  thronged  around  her  and  sucked  the  juices  of  the  fly  while 
she  held  it.  The  fly  had  previously  been  crushed  in  the  mother's  jaws  as 
though  to  make  the  food  available  for  her  nestlings.  How  long  this 
process  continued  is  not  stated.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  the  details  were  not 
given,  and  the  lack  of  these  details  leaves  in  my  mind  the  question,  was 
this  really  a  case  of  feeding  the  young?  Or  did  the  Dolomede  simply 
return  to  her  nest  to  prey  upon  the  food  which  she  had  gathered  for 
herself,  and  permit,  without  interference,  her  brood  to  share  in  the  repast? 
I  have  seen  a  mature  Argiope  (see  Vol.  I.,  page  256)  feeding  upon  a  blue 
bottle  fly,  while  a  number  of  small  Diptera  were  sharing  in  the  feast, 
having  crowded  up  to  the  very  jaws  of  the  spider  to  sip  the  juices  of  the 
carcass.     Of  course,  no  purpose  to  feed  the  little  flies  could  be  inferred  on 


^  Staveley,  page  100. 


196  AMERICAN   SPIDEKS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

the  part  of  the  big  spider.  Might  not  a  deliberate  intention  to  feed  her 
young  be  excluded  from  the  act  of  this  mother  Dolomede  on  precisely 
the  same  ground? 

Quite  as  extraordinary  as  the  above  is  the  behavior  of  a  little  Jumping 
spider,  Attus  nubillus,  related  by  the  same  observer.  ^  This  spider  de- 
posited her  cocoon,  after  the  manner  of  her  genus,  within  a  couple  of 
curled  leaves  of  prickly  Smilax  rotundifolia.  Mrs.  Treat  opened  the 
nest  and  found  that  the  spiders  were  apparently  just  hatched,  and  were 
of  a  pale  green  color.  The  mother  was  not  then  in  sight,  but  knowing 
that  Attus  remains  with  and  cares  for  her  young  until  they  leave  the 
nest,  the  observer  waited  and  was  rewarded  by  witnessing  the  little  mother's 
return.  For  a  time  she  seemed  to  look  with  dismay  upon  her  pretty  home 
torn  asunder,  and  her  spiderlings  scattered  around,  but  soon  proceeded  to 
gather  the  younglings  together  and  tuck  them  back  under  the 
ersona  gjjj^gj^  canopy.  One  spiderling,  which  had  wandered  farther  than 
Young-.  ^^®  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  verge  of  the  leaf,  was  picked  up  bodily,  as  a  cat 
would  carry  its  kitten,  and  put  back  into  the  flossy  interior  of 
the  cocoon.  Then  the  mother  set  about  repairing  her  damaged  cocoon; 
and  after  the  rent  was  mended  the  young  were  not  visible.  She  also 
tried  to  bring  the  enclosing  leaves  together  again,  but  presently  abandoned 
that  effort. 

She  remained  on  the  outside  of  the  nest,  and  no  threatened  danger 
would  induce  her  to  leave.  She  sprang  towards  the  observer's  hand,  and 
fiercely  grasped  the  point  of  a  pencil  thrust  near  her.  Several  times 
daily  the  nest  was  visited,  and  the  mother  was  found  persistently  pres- 
ent until  the  third  day,  when  she  was  missed.  A  second-  time  the  cocoon 
was  opened,  and  the  spiderlings  found  to  have  made  the  first  moult,  and 
were  crawling  about  slowly.  When  the  mother  came  back  and  perceived 
her  young  disturbed  again,  she  varied  her  behavior  so  far  as  to  look 
around  for  the  cause  of  the  disaster — spying  around  leaves,  and  over  and 
under  them.  Finding  nothing,  she  soon  became  quiet,  put  her  brood 
within  the  cocoon  once  more,  and  again  repaired  the  damage, 
th  "M  t  '^^^^  completed,  she  went  to  work  to  bring  the  leaves  together. 
The  tips  now  stood  two  inches  apart,  while  at  the  base  or  stem 
end  the  space  was  half  an  inch.  The  leaves  were  thick  and  leathery,  and 
the  petioles  stiff  and  firm.  She  fastened  a  thread  of  silk  to  one  leaf  and 
then  to  the  other,  and  went  back  and  fofth  strengthening  and  shortening 
the  lines,  and  slowly  bringing  the  leaves  together.  The  next  morning  they 
were  found  quite  joined,  and  the  interior  entirely  hidden. 

A  third  time,  during  the  mother's  absence,  the  leaves  were  separated 
without  disturbing  the  young  within  their  cocoon.  When  the  mother  re- 
turned  she   did   not   attempt   to   reconnect   the   leaves.     In   a  day  or   two 

1  "  My  Garden  Pets,"  pages  64-68. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  197 


thereafter  a  door  was  seen  in  one  side  of  the  nest,  out  of  which  the  spi- 
derlings  soon  made  their  exit.  They  were  quite  lively ;  several  were  on  a 
leaf;  they  seemed  to  be  playing,  springing  at  each  other,  then  back  into 
the  nest  and  out  again.  When  the  leaf  was  touched  every  one  instantly 
disappeared. 

At  the  next  visit  Mrs.  Treat  moved  her  pencil  over  the  nest  a  little 
harshly.  Instantly  the  spiderlings  all  fled  from  the  abode,  springing  in 
every  direction ;  but,  before  leaving,  every  one  must  have  fixed 
y^  ®^"  a  thread  to  the  leaf,  for  all  soon  returned,  slowly  ascending, 
taking  in  their  tiny  cables,  until  they  reached  the  leaf,  when 
they  cautiously  approached  the  nest.  "  I  was  somewhat  puzzled  at  their 
return,  after  such  a  flight,"  says  the  writer,  "  until  I  saw  the  mother  with 
a  fly  and  the  little  ones  all  around  her  sucking  its  juices.  This,  then,  was 
the  reason  of  their  remaining  together — they  were  fed  by  her." 

This  account  is  so  fully  detailed,  and  contains  the  evidence  of  such  re- 
peated and  careful  observation,  that  we  have  no  room  to  doubt  the  fact 
that  the  mother  Nubillus  maintains  a  remarkable  degree  of  oversight  and 
care  in  behalf  of  her  young  during  the  period  of  their  early  life  and 
growth.  The  manner  in  which  the  spiderlings  were  covered  again  and 
again  within  the  silken  egg  sac,  especially  the  extraordinary  fact  of  one 
being  carried  in  the  mouth  and  placed  along  with  its  comrades,  suggests 
to  us  a  degree  of  malernal  solicitude  on  the  part  of  this  aranead  which 
falls  little  short  of  that  exhibited  by  the  mothers  of  vertebrate  animals. 
If  we  add  to  this  the  fact,  of  which  Mrs.  Treat  appears  to  have  no  doubt, 
that  the  mother  actually  brought  food  to  the  nest  and  bestowed  it  upon 
her  offspring,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  place  the  mother  aranead  even  yet 
nearer  to  her  verteljrate  sisters  in  the  quality  of  her  maternal  affection 
and  care.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  in  this  case,  as  well 
as  that  of  Dolomedes  scriptus,  only  one  example  of  so  called  feeding  could 
be  observed  and  recorded. 

These  detailed  observations  confirm  the  statements  of  Blackwall,  that 
"  the  young  of  some  species  live  together  for  a  considerable  time,  and  in 
many  instances  are  supplied  with  sustenance  by  the  mother ; "  ^  and  again, 
that  the  young  of  Theridium  riparium  "remain  with  the  mother  for  a 
long  period  after  quitting  the  cocoons,  and  are  provided  by  her  with  food, 
which  consists  chiefly  of  ants."  ^  I  have  observed  the  young  of  spiders, 
particularly  of  a  small  species  of  Dictyna,^  feeding  upon  parts  of  a  dead 
fly  which  the  mother  was  eating.  At  least  the  young  seemed  to  be  feed- 
ing, and  I  have  the  belief  that  they  were  doing  so,  although  I  could  not 
positively  declare  it,  since  they  may  have  simply  been  resting  upon  the 
limbs    and   other   parts    of    the   dead    insect,   after   the  manner  of    young 

^  Spiders  Gt.  B.  &  I.,  Intro.,  page  7. 

^  Id.,  page  9,  and  Researches  in  Zoology,  page  356. 

^  Dictyna  philoteichus,  Vol.  I.,  page  354. 


198  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

spiders  to  get  themselves  upon  all  objects  and  in  all  manner  of  positions 
within  their  neighborhood.  Certainly  these  observations  must  open  up 
before  our  minds  more  clearly  than  ever  the  existence  of  a  high  degree  of 
maternal  instinct  in  spiders,  and  the  possibility  of  discovering  yet  higher. 

VIII. 

Among  experiments  on  the  mental  powers  of  spiders,  made  by  Professor 
and  Mrs.  Peckham,  were  some  on  the  strength  of  the  maternal  feeling. ^    They 

proceeded  by  removing  their  cocoons  from  the  mothers  and  then 
Strength  noting  with  what  degree  of  eagerness  they  sought  to  regain  them ; 
°  ^  ^5"'  and  also  by  determining  for  how  long  a  time  they  would  remem- 
ings  ^^^  ^^®  cocoons  after  they  were  separated  from  them.     The  Ly- 

cosids  were  selected  as  the  principal  objects  of  study,  because 
these  spiders  keep  the  egg  sac  attached  to  the  spinnerets  until  the  young 
are  hatched,  and  thereafter  carry  the  spiderlings  on  their  backs  for  a  cer- 
tain length  of  time,  until  they  are  able  to  shift  for  themselves.  It  was 
thought  that  the  lengthening  of  the  period  of  infancy  during  which  the 
female  cares  for  her  young,  might,  in  the  case  of  araneads,  as  in  that  of 
more  highly  organized  animals,  have  produced  a  greater  development  of 
maternal  instinct  than  in  other  species  of  spiders  where  the  eggs  receive 
little  or  no  attention  from  the  spider  after  she  has  deposited  them.  The 
following  will  show  the  character  of  some  of  the  experiments : — 

The  cocoon  of  a  female  Pirata  piraticus  was  removed  from  her.  Dur- 
ing this  act  the  mother  seized  the  egg  sac  with  her  falces  several  times  and 
.  tried  to  escape.  After  the  removal  she  seemed  much  affected 
'  and  searched  about  in  all  directions  to  find  her  lost  treasure. 
In  an  hour  and  a  half  the  cocoon  was  restored  to  the  mother,  who  im- 
mediately took  it  between  her  falces  and  passed  it  back  to  its  proper  place 
beneath  the  abdomen.  It  was  again  removed  and  returned,  in  three  hours. 
The  mother  did  not  seem  as  ready  to  receive  it  as  in  the  first  instance, 
but  after  a  little  hesitation  took  it  up  and  carried  it  off.  From  three 
spiders  of  the  same  species  cocoons  were  removed,  and  retained  for  the 
space  of  thirteen,  fourteen  and  a  half,  and  sixteen  hours  respectively.  All 
remembered   them   and    took   charge   of    them   when   they   were    returned. 

The  same  cocoons  were  again  removed  and  retained  for  twenty- 
Absence  fQ^-^j.  hours,  when  they  were  restored.  Two  of  the  mothers  re- 
Interest     ^^^^^  ^^  resume  their  maternal  duties,  seeming   not  to  recognize 

their  cocoons.  The  third,  however,  after  her  cocoon  had  been 
placed  in  front  of  her  seven  times,  slowly  resumed  charge  of  it,  but 
with  none  of  the  eagerness  before  displayed. 

Experiments  with   a  female   Lycosa  of  an  unknown  species  resulted  as 
follows :  After  being  separated  from  her  cocoon  for  a  whole  day  the  mother 


Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,  page  397. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:     MOTHERHOOD.  199 


recollected  it,  and  promptly  took  it  up.     A  second  individual,  after  an  ab- 
sence of  forty-three  hours,  had  apparently  forgotten  all  about  her  cocoon, 
since,  although  she  touched  it  five   times  with    her    legs,  and    it  was   four 
times  placed   directly  under   her,  not   until  the  fifth   time  did  its  presence 
recall  her  to  a  sense  of  duty.     She  then  very  slowly  and  languidly  took 
it   up   and    passed    it   to   the   usual   place.     From    another   individual   the 
cocoon  was   kept   forty-eight   hours,    but    the   little   spider   could 
wo    ays^^^^  remember  so  long,  and,  although   the  observers  worked  long 
and    patiently   to   make   her   recollect,   she    would    have   nothing 
more  to   do  with   it.     Notwithstanding  many  efforts,  no  female  among  the 
Lycosids  was  found   constant  in  her  affection   to  her  cocoon  after  as  long 
a  period  as  forty-eight  hours. 

Several  species  of  the  Attidse  and  Thomisidse  did  not  remember  their 
cocoons  for  twenty-four  hours.  On  the  other  hand,  a  female  of  Clubiona 
pallens  remembered  her  eggs  for  the  space  of  forty-eight  hours,  and  when 
they  were  returned  to  her  spun  a  web  over  them  in  the  corner  of  the 
box  in  which  they  were  placed.  Of  all  the  spiders  experimented  upon 
by  the  Peckhams,  the  little  Lineweaver  Theridium  globosum  had 
„  .  ^^  '  the  best  memory  for  her  cocoon.  This  was  returned  to  her  after 
Mother,  fifty-one  hours'  separation.  She  at  once  went  to  the  eggs,  touched 
them  with  her  legs,  then  left  them  to  improve  her  web,  every 
now  and  then  running  back  to  see  if  they  were  safe,  and  presently  set- 
tled down  near  them. 

Here,  again,  our  ideas  of  what  might  be  expected  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  Nature  are  thrown  into  confusion.  The'  Lycosids,  who  carry  their  co- 
coons about  their  persons  until  their  young  are  hatched,  and  then  person- 
ally conduct  their  broodlings  until  they  are  strong  enough  to  take  their 
chances  in  life  apart  from  maternal  care,  appear  to  have  a  weak  memory, 
and  a  comparatively  feeble  maternal  affection  for  their  offspring.  So  also 
the  Attids  and  Thomisids,  who  remain  near  their  cocoons,  brooding  or 
guarding  them  for  the  space  of  fifteen  or  twenty  days,  were  found  so  de- 
fective, either  in  memory  or  maternal  feeling,  that  they  lose  interest  in 
their  cocoons  if  separated  from  them  for  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours. 
No  doubt  these  experiments  need  supplementing;  and  when  the  patient 
observers  who  have  given  us  these  results  shall  have  wrought 
eve  op-  j^j-^ggj,  upon  the  same  field,  we  may  come  to  different  conclu- 
sions ;  but  at  present  it  would  seem  that  the  development  of 
maternal  instincts  appears  to  be  quite  independent  of  those  causes  which, 
according  to  the  theory  of  evolution  at  least,  we  might  have  expected  to 
affect  them  most  vigorously. 

IX. 

The  Peckhams  found,  as  others  had  discovered,  that  it  is  not  a  difficult 
matter  to  deceive  spiders  as  to  their  proper  cocoons.     A  ball  of  cotton  they 


200  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


refused,  but  a  little  pith  ball  led  them  entirely  astray.     The  following  will 
indicate  the  nature  of  some  of  their  experiments.     A  pith  ball  three  times 

as  large  as  the  cocoon  of  Pardosa  pallida  was  refused  by  the 
Mistakes  j^other.     When  reduced   in  size   she  took    it  between   her  falces 

and  attached  it  to  her  abdomen.     The  bit  of  pith   appeared   to 

give  as  much  satisfaction  as  the  egg  sac.  When  the  cocoons 
were  nearly  of  a  size,  one  mother  would  take  that  of  another,  although  of 
a  different  genus,  just  as  quickly  as  she  would  her  own. 

As  a  further  test  of  general  intelligence,  the  outer  case  was  taken  from 
a  cocoon  of  Pallida  and  slipped  over  a  lead  shot  of  the  same  size,  but  three 

or  four  times  as  heavy.     Much  of    the  silk  envelope  was  broken 
^^^py^^    away  in  thus  covering  the  shot,  but  when  offered  to  the  spider 

she  at  once  seized  it  and  after  a  good  deal  of  trouble  fastened 
it  to  her  abdomen.  The  load  was  so  heavy  that  the  mother  had  great 
difficulty  in  walking  up  the  side  of  a  board.  While  transferring  this  spec- 
imen to  another  box,  the  shot  from  its  weight  fell  from  the  abdomen,  and 
the  mother  spent  over  thirty  minutes,  working  with  all  her  might,  fas- 
tening it  on  again.  Once  more  it  fell  off,  and  this  time  she  carried  it 
about  between  the  falces  and  the  third  pair  of  legs.  A  second  specimen 
of  this  species  was  tried  with  the  plain  shot,  but  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it.  The  web  covered  shot  was  then  removed  from  the  first  speci- 
men, and  the  plain  shot  offered  to  her  instead,  but  this  was  stubbornly 
refused,  whereupon  the  web  covered  shot  was  returned  and  was  taken  back 
with  every  evidence  of  tender  emotion. 

Another  test  was  made  by  offering  a  cocoon  and  a  pith  ball  together. 
The  two  objects  were   placed  side  by  side.     The  mother,  approaching  one 

side,  first  touched  the  pith  ball,  and  at  once  seized  it  with  her 
Touch  falces.  But  as  she  moved  away  one  of  her  fore  legs  touched  the 
rp    ,  cocoon.      She   stopped,    remained   quiet   a    moment   or   two,    then 

dropped  the  pith  ball,  took  up  the  cocoon,  and  m'oved  away  with 
it.  The  next  day  the  two  objects  were  again  placed  in  front  of  her.  This 
time  she  also  happened  to  meet  the  pith  ball  first,  and,  as  before,  took  it 
up  at  once.  She  ran  off  with  it,  and  it  was  some  time  before  the  experi- 
menters managed  to  place  the  real  cocoon  just  in  front  of  her.  As  soon 
as  her  legs  touched  this  she  stood  still,  and  then  after  a  few  minutes 
dropped  the  pith  ball  and  took  up  her  eggs. 

From  these  observations  it  is  evident  that  the  spiders  experimented 
upon,  when  allowed  to  choose,  can  distinguish  their  own  cocoons  and  have 
a  preference  for  them.  But  in  the  absence  of  their  cocoons  they  content 
themselves  either  with  a  pith  ball  or,  more  strangely  still,  with  a  web 
covered  shot.  The  presence  of  the  w^eb  upon  the  shot  makes  a  marked 
difference  in  the  disposition  of  the  spider  towards  it.  The  contact  of  the 
pure  metal  causes  the  rejection  of  the  object,  while  contact  with  the  web 
covering  thereof    produces    that   complacency   which   leads    the   mother   to 


MATERNAL    INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  201 


adopt  the  shot  in  place  of  the  cocoon.  The  fact  that  the  spider  will  carry 
about  so  comparatively  heavy  an  object  as  a  lead  shot  instead  of  its  cocoon 
certainly  atgues  a  poorly  developed  muscular  sense.  ^  Sir  John  Lubbock 
appears  to  have  made  some  experiments  in  the  line  marked  out  by  the 
Peckhams,  as  a  result  of  which  he  concludes  that  examples  of  Lycosa 
saccata  did  not  appear  to  recognize  their  own  bags  of  eggs,  but  were  equal- 
ly happy  if  they  were  interchanged.^ 

A  gravid  female  of  Argiope  cophinaria  sent  to  me  enclosed  in  a  paper 
box  was  found  dead,  having  left  an  unfinished  cocoon.  She  was  cling- 
ing to  one  end  of  a  thick  patch  of  white  spinningwork  that 
Covering  quite  enclosed  a  small  tuft  of  fern  leaves,  at  the  other  end  of 
p  ,7  which  was  a  roll  of  purple  swathing,  corresponding  with  a 
purple  pad  of  a  complete  cocoon.  I  expected  to  find  the  eggs 
within  this  roll,  but  was  surprised  upon  opening  it  to  see  a  yellowish 
ball  of  silk,  and  nothing  more.  Where  the  eggs  should  have  been  was 
only  a  round  silken  wad.  Nevertheless,  the  expiring  energy  of  the  spider 
had  been  spent  in  spinning  a  protecting  cover  around  this  mock  egg 
mass. 

An  anonymous  observer  ^  records  somewhat  similar  cases.  He  found 
one  Cophinaria  cocoon  in  which  there  were  no  eggs,  and  another  con- 
taining but  three.  The  eggs  were  on  some  boards  beneath  the  cocoon 
site,  having  fallen  from  the  first  receptacle  before  they  were  covered.  In 
each 'case  the  mother  went  on  with  her  work  and  carefully  finished  the 
eggless  flask.  If  the  loss  was  discovered  the  knowledge  made  no  differ- 
ence in  the  exercise  of  her  maternal  functions,  which,  apparently,  were 
controlled  by  an  instinct  or  feeling  quite  independent  of  knowledge. 

A  like  example  of  mental  abstraction  (if  one  may  be  allowed  such  a 
phrase)  was  reported  to  me  by  Mrs.  Mary  Treat  as  having  occurred  at  Vine- 
land,  New  Jersey,  with  a  large  Florida  Dolomede  spider,  probably 
Unmtel-  Dolomedes  tenebrosus  Hentz.  This  mother,  after  the  habit  of 
Instinct  ^^^  genus,  carried  her  cocoon  under  her  jaw,  but  sometimes 
shifted  it  to  a  position  beneath  the  abdomen.  Yet  there  were 
no  eggs  in  the  cocoon — a  fact  which  thus  came  about:  When  first  caught 
the  Dolomede  was  confined  in  a  tin  can,  which  so  surprised  or  frightened 
her  out  of  her  maternal  propriety  that  she  deposited  her  eggs  in  the 
can  without  attempting  to  protect  them  with  a  cocoon.  She  was  removed 
to  a  natural  environment  upon  the  ground,  whereupon  she  spun  a  web 
and  gathered  up  sundry  materials,  which  she  managed  to  make  into  the 
form  of  a  cocoon,  which,  with  this  species,  is  a  round  sac  about  the  size 
of  a  boy's  playing  marble.  This  she  hugged  to  her  body  and  lugged 
about  with  as  zealous  care  as  though  it  were  filled  with  eggs. 

^  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,  pages  417-419. 

^  On  the  Senses,  Instincts,  and  Intelligence  of  Animals,  Sir  John  Lubbock,  page  179. 

3  "Katydid,"  Chicago  Tribune,  September  11th,  1881. 


202  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINQWORK. 


Evidently  in  this  case,  as  with  the  Argiopes,  the  mother  acted  under 
the  impulse  of  a  mentalism  that  was  without  reasoning;  or,  if  we  may- 
suppose  that  she  reflected  upon  the  loss  of  her  eggs,  such  reflection  had 
not  sufficient  influence  upon  her  will  to  resist  the  instinctive  impulse — 
or  shall  we  say  the  simple  functional  impulse? — to  brood  upon  something. 
These  cases  remind  one  of  the  well  known  persistence  of  setting  hens  in 
brooding  over  an  empty  nest. 

The  English  observer,  Mr.  F.  M.  Campbell,  records  a  like  example. 
While  watching  a  female  Tegenaria  guyonii  lay  her  eggs,  it  occurred  to 
„  .    him  to  see  what  she  would  do  if  these  were  removed.     Accord- 

ingly  the  eggs  were  deftly  lifted  away,  but  somewhat  to  the 
disturbance  of  the  mother.  After  a  few  seconds  she  began  to  overspin  the 
spot  where  she  had  just  placed  her  eggs,  and  completed  her  cocoon. ^  Mr. 
Campbell's  suggestion,  that  the  force  of  habit  urged  forward  the  aranead 
to  act  as  though  the  eggs  were  in  the  proper  site,  must  be  qualified  by 
the  fact  that  "habit"  cannot  have  much  influence  in  a  maternal  act  which 
is  repeated  so  few  times  as  with  this  species.  There  is  more  plausibility 
in  the  physiological  aspect  of  the  act  which  he  suggests,  viz.,  that  the 
maturity  of  the  eggs  may  have  been  correlated  with  greater  activity  in  the 
collection  of  fluid  by  the  spinning  glands ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  mam- 
mae of  a  vertebrate,  the  discharge  of  their  contents  may  have  been  neces- 
sary for  the  comfort  of  the  creature. 

X. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  note  the  many  evidences  of  exact  mechanical 
skill  and  design  shown  by  spiders  in  the  act  of  cocooning.     We  speak  of 

this,  no  doubt  properly,  as  instinctive.  Certainly  it  is  not  the 
Q,  .,,  result  of  experience,  for  even  in  the  case  of  those   spiders  that 

make  several  cocoons,  the  first  one  is  finished  with  the  same 
accuracy,  and  indeed  after  the  same  methods,  as  the  last.  It  cannot  result 
from  instruction,  for  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  the  young  are  never 
associated  with  their  mother ;  and  in  those  cases,  as  among  Saltigrades  and 
Lycosids,  where  the  spiderlings  are  under  maternal  watch  for  a  little  season 
after  hatching,  the  idea  of  instruction  in  the  art  of  cocoon  making  is  not 
to  be  thought  of.  Neither  can  we  suppose  this  remarkable  mechanical  ac- 
curacy to  be  the  result  of  observation,  though  no  doubt  it  might  happen 
that  immature  females  observe  the  methods  of  cocooning  practiced  by 
mature  specimens  of  the  various  families.  In  short,  the  only  admissible 
conception  is  that  the  act,  including  all  the  methodical  details,  is  intuitive, 
and  springs  into  being  in  full  operation  at  the  moment  that  it  is  needed, 
and  that  without  any  previous  preparation  or  knowledge  of  any  sort  on 
the  part  of  the  aranead  mother. 


^  On  Instinct,  Trans.  Hertfordshire  Natural  Hist.  Society,  Vol.  III.,  page  3,  Dec,  1884. 


MATERNAL   INSTINCTS:    MOTHERHOOD.  203 


Nevertheless,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  entire  actions  of  the  spider 
are  such  as  one  would  expect  from  an  individual  that  had  been  thoroughly 
instructed,  had  acquired  skill  from  experience,  and  was  pursuing 
ar  s  o  ^  matured  plan  with  all  the  evidences  of  forethought  and  skill, 
thought.  ^^  illustrate  this  fact,  one  may  refer  to  the  method  practiced  by 
Argiope  in  making  her  cocoon.  Nothing  could  be  more  indic- 
ative of  forethought  than  the  manner  of  placing  the  eggs  at  the  outset 
upon  the  little  saucer  shaped  disk  prepared  for  their  reception,  and  which 
are  retained  in  their  place  by  means  of  the  silken  sac  swiftly  woven 
over  them.  The  preparation  of  the  thick  padded  purple  mass  which  next 
envelops  this  strikes  our  attention  as  indicating  wise  skill.  The  manner 
in  which  this  is  woven  so  as  to  produce  the  loose  substance  that  envelops 
the  eggs,  and  at  the  same  time  is  compacted  into  a  solid  and  shapely  mass, 
is  certainly  what  the  artisan  might  denominate  a  "mechanical  job." 

Then,  again,  contrast  the  mode  of  weaving  this  object  with  that  prac- 
ticed upon  the  external  case  of  the  cocoon.  As  has  been  shown  in  full 
detail,  the  method  of  spinning  is  here  quite  different,  and  corresponds 
closely  with  the  character  of  the  fibre  to  be  spun.  In  other  words,  as  it  is 
the  intention  of  the  mother  to  make  the  outer  case  a  closely  woven  tissue, 
instead  of  a  loose  mass  like  the  purple  pad  above  alluded  to,  she  proceeds 
to  tighten  the  threads,  bracing  them  upon  each  other  and  compacting 
them  by  all  the  methods  familiar  to  her  spinning  art. 

Nor  can  we  fail  to  mention  here  the  manner  in  which  the  service  is 
equalized  so  that  every  part  is  of  nearly  equal  thickness  and  evenly  dis- 
tributed, so  as  to  form  the  shapely  pyriform  cocoon  familiar  to  most 
wanderers  in  our  fields.  As  has  been  explained,  this  is  done  by  carrying 
the  silken  filaments  as  they  are  outspun  from  point  to  point  while  the 
spider  circumambulates  the  surface.  That  such  a  practice  requires  a  di- 
recting purpose,  and  that  such  a  method  is  the  outcome  of  an  express 
design,  seems  the  most  manifest  conclusion.  The  spider  spins  her  cocoon 
case  very  much  after  the  manner  in  which  a  lady  winds  up  a  ball  of  silken 
thread  or  of  embroidering  wool.  One  would  think  it  as  unreasonable  to 
say  that  the  manner  in  which  the  ball  in  the  lady's  hand  is  shaped  into 
its  globular  form  is  without  any  directing  purpose  on  her  part,  as  that 
the  mother  Argiope,  in  forming  her  cocoon  ball,  wraps  the  silken  material 
of  which  it  is  composed  without  any  guiding  purpose  to  keep  it  even. 

Take  another  example,  to  illustrate  this  point,  the  remarkable  mud  ball 

of  Micaria  limicunse.     The  cocoon  sac  has  been  shown  to  be  a  white  oval 

case  within  which  the  eggs  are  spun,  and  which  is  connected  to 

The  Mud   gQ^e   surface   by  a  little   silken  cord  or  pedicle   attached   to   the 

Cradle  .        . 

y.  ,  top.     This  sac  made,  the  spider  proceeds  to   cover  it  with   mud, 

and  so  works  that,  when  she  has  finished,  the  enclosing  shell  of 
mortar  is,  with  scarcely  an  exception  in  a  large  number  of  specimens  ex- 
amined,  a   well  rounded  globe.      Now,   how   has  the   spider  proceeded   to 


204  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


accomplish  this  result?  If  we  were  to  suppose  a  human  plasterer  given 
the  task  of  covering  a  sack  hung  to  the  ceiling  of  a  roof  with  a  coating  of 
mortar  two  or  three  times  the  bulk  of  the  sack,  and  to  have  the  same,  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  work,  in  the  shape  of  a  globe,  how  would  he  proceed? 
Manifestly  by  placing  successive  layers  around  the  sack,  suffering  one  to 
harden  before  the  other  would  be  laid  on,  rounding  each  up  with  his 
trowel  as  he  proceeded,  building  the  mortar  around  the  cord  by  which 
the  sack  was  suspended,  and  all  the  while  so  guiding  his  implement  that 
the  object  would  gradually  assume  the  globular  shape  required. 

Precisely  such  is  the  method  pursued  by  our  little  Limicunse.  A  dis- 
section of  the  cocoon  shows  that  the  spider  placed  her  mud  upon  the  silk- 
en sac  in  numerous  successive  layers;  that  she  permitted  one 
Limi-^  layer  to  harden  before  the  other  was  laid  on;  and  that,  as  she 
M  th  d  gradually  proceeded,  she  built  her  mortar  around  the  suspensory 
cord  or  pedicle,  and  shaped  the  whole  with  her  mandibles  and 
feet  until  it  assumed  the  form  of  the  smooth,  round  object  represented  in 
Figs.  147  and  148  on  page  130. 

One  cannot  venture  to  think  that  the  process  by  which  the  human 
plasterer  arrives  at  his  method  of  work  is  identical  with  that  pursued  by 
this  spider  plasterer.  In  the  one  case  it  is  the  result  of  educa- 
Mans  ^JQj^  jjj^(j  experience,  and  of  the  application  by  reasoning  of 
,  .,  previous  training  to  the  problem  in  hand.  In  the  case  of  the 
Spider's,  spider  no  such  education  or  experience,  and  probably  no  such 
process  of  reasoning,  can  be  predicated.  What  mental  processes 
has  she  gone  through,  if  indeed  she  has  passed  through  any  ?  Can  we 
ascribe  to  her,  under  the  circumstances,  the  credit  of  reasoning  upon  her 
work  and  adapting  her  methods  thereto?  To  do  this  would  seem  to  me 
to  place  her  thinking  abilities  and  natural  mechanical  capabilities  above 
those  of  man.  That  there  have  been  design  and  forethought  somewhere 
behind  all  the  processes  of  the  spider  mother  one  cannot  doubt ;  yet  with 
equal  certainty  we  must  refuse  to  attribute  them  solely  to  the  spider  her- 
self. .  Forethought  and  mechanical  skill  abide  in  Nature,  whose  formative 
forces  have  wrought  out  the  structure  of  the  spider  and  guided  all  its 
functions.  But  forethought  and  skill  are  the  attributes  of  mind,  of  per- 
sonality ;  and  how  shall  we  denominate  this  Personal  Thinker  ?  How  can 
we  deny  His  Presence? 

Perhaps  a  third  illustration  may  be  added.  Cyclosa  caudata  has  the 
curious  habit  of  attaching  to  the  exterior  of  her  cocoons  carcasses  of  in- 
sects  from  which  she  has  sucked  the  juices,  instead  of  casting 
caudata  *^^^^  from  the  snare,  the  usual  aranead  mode  of  disposing  of 
such  material.  Given  the  habit  of  suspending  the  cocoon  with- 
in the  disc  of  the  orbicular  snare,  and  also  the  habit  of  protecting  the 
same  by  an  armor  of  extraneous  material,  it  is,  perhaps,  inevitable  that 
the  mother   should   be   compelled   to   resort   to  some   such   method.      It   is 


MATERNAL    INSTINCTS:     MOTHERHOOD.  205 

obviously  impracticable  to  descend  to  the  ground  and  secure  mud,  vege- 
table mould,  and  cliippage,  as  is  the  custom  with  those  species  whose 
cocoons  are  fixed  upon  various  surfaces,  and  whose  makers  can  conveni- 
ently resort  to  terra  firma.  In  the  case  of  our  little  Caudata,  whose  net 
swings  in  the  open  air,  the  chippage  of  slaughtered  insects  is  after  all 
the  most  convenient  material  at  hand.  Necessity  here,  as  among  human 
creatures,  appears  to  have  been  the  mother  of  invention,  aided  much  by 
opportunity.  The  hard,  dry  shells  are  cut  up  into  pieces,  which  are  stuck 
to  every  part  of  the  egg  sac  until  the  whole  is  covered,  often  very  closely. 
Thus,  in  a  single  cocoon  one  will  be  able  to  detect  the  wings,  head,  elytra, 
abdomens,  and  other  parts  of  various  orders  of  insects,  many  of  them 
having  bright  colors. 

In  these  various  methods  of  exercising  this  general  habit  one  can 
find  no  motive  which  meets  the  facts  of  the  case  as  well  as  that  of  ma- 
ternal solicitude.  Mother  love  has  found  expression  in  the  armoring  of 
the  silken  vessel  within  which  the  eggs  are  enclosed,  thus  protecting 
them  from  the  enemies  which  are  to  beset  them.  The  motive  is  none 
the  less  potent,  and  none  the  less  to  be  recognized,  because  of  the  fact 
that  the  mother  herself  could  have  had  no  knowledge  of  the  character 
of  those  enemies  to  which  her  progeny  would  be  exposed,  and  acted  in 
obedience  to  an  impulse  within  which  we  can  trace  no  factor  of  personal 
reasoning. 


PART  III.-EARLY  LIFE  AND  DISTRIBUTION 

OF  SPECIES. 

OHAPTEE    YIII. 
COCOON   LIFE  AND   BABYHOOD. 


The  tyro  in  arachnology  experiences  his  first  and  greatest  difficulty  in 
the  attempt  to  separate  between  the  mature  and  immature  spiders  collected 
by  him.  There  are  resemblances  between  the  young  of  various 
-^  ^  ^'^  species,  particularly  of  the  same  genera ;  and  the  differences  be- 
tween the  young  and  the  adult  of  any  one  species  are,  in  certain 
cases,  so  great  as  to  produce  confusion.  In  point  of  fact,  except  for  pur- 
poses of  special  study  in  life  economy,  young  spiders  are  not  worth  collect- 
ing or  retaining  in  a  collection.  The  valuable  specimens  are  only  those 
which  are  mature. 

Now,  it  must  be  remembered  that  spiders  do  not  undergo  a  metamor- 
phosis— a  fact  which  is  continually  forgotten  because  of  their  classification 
with  insects  by  the  earlier  writers,  and  the  frequent  treatment  of  them 
under  Entomology  even  at  the  present  day.  Certain  orders  of  insects,  as 
the  Lepidoptera,  undergo  a  complete  metamorphosis.  The  butterfly  ar- 
rives at  maturity  through  the  well  marked  stages  of  the  cater- 
Spiders  piUar  and  chrysalis.  Other  orders,  as  the  Orthoptera — locusts 
y.  .  and    grasshoppers,   for    example — have    an    incomplete-  metamor- 

phosis, phosis.  But  a  spider  is  a  perfect  animal  from  its  birth,  and 
only  requires  the  general  growth  and  strengthening  of  its  mem- 
bers, together  with  the  development  of  the  sexual  organs,  to  complete  its 
maturity. 

This  maturity  is  reached  after  several  successive  moultings  of  the  skin. 
An  important  outward  structural  change  takes  place  at  the  final  moult, 
at  which  time  male  spiders  get  their  complete  armature  of  spines,  bristles, 
and  hairs,  according  to  their  species.  Moreover,  the  last'  or  digital  joints 
of  the  palps,  which,  to  quote  the  language  of  Cambridge,^  have  been  up 
to  that  time  tumid  and  homogeneous,  break  up  into  the  digital  joint,  so 

^  "  Spiders  of  Dorset,"  Introduction,  page  26. 

(206) 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD.  207 


called,  and  the  curious  and  more  or  less  complete  congeries  of  lobes,  bulbs, 

and  spines  known  as  the  palpal  organs.     The  full  dimensions  of  the  legs 

are   also   sometimes    attained   at  the    same    period.     The  female 

^^■fj^^  spider    at   her    last   moult   merely   develops   the   genital   aperture 

turity.  w^th  its  external  processes.  Up  to  this  time  the  aperture  is  in- 
visible, though,  like'  the  palpal  organs  of  the  male,  it  has  been 

gradually  developing  beneath  the  cuticle. 

II. 

Of  spider  life  within  the  cocoon  our  knowledge  must  necessarily  be 
limited.  The  period  of  hatching  differs  according  to  the  species,  the  time 
of  the  year,  and  the  nature  of  the  season.  The  eggs  in  many 
-  .„  autumn  cocoons  do  not  hatch  until  spring,  say  from  the  middle 

of  April  to  the  middle  of  May.  I  have  gathered  many  cocoons 
that  have  wintered  out  of  doors,  of  Agalena  nsevia,  of  various  Laterigrades, 
and  several  species  of  Orbweavers,  which  contained  unhatched  eggs  from 
which  young  spiders  were  subsequently  bred.  After  hatching,  the  little 
creatures  remain  massed  within  the  cocoon  along  with  the  white  shell  of 
the  egg  or  the  first  moult.  At  times  they  spin  delicate  threads,  which  add 
to  the  flossy  nest  within  which  they  domicile,  so  that  after  a  cocoon  has 
been  opened  for  examination,  the  fracture  will  be  closed  up  by  such  spin- 
ning work. 

The  spring  or  summer  cocoons  are  hatched  at  periods  varying  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  days.  According  to  Professop  Wilder,  the  eggs  of  Nephila 
plumipes  laid  in  September  were  hatched  in  about  thirty  days.^ 
TT  .  ,  .  A  cocoon  of  Epeira  cornigera,  taken  in  April  and  having  the 
'  eggs  then  unhatched,  I  found  to  contain  fully  hatched  young  on 
May  15th.  A  female  Epeira  sclopetaria  cocooned  in  a  trying  box  May 
26th,  and  on  June  13th,  eighteen  days  thereafter,  the  young  brood  issued 
from  the  cocoon. 

I  have  opened  cocoons  of  Argiope  cophinaria  in  the  early  winter,  and 
found  the  young  within  crawling  about  in  a  sluggish  way  among  the 
silken  fibres  of  the  interior  enswathment,  or  massed  inside  the  central, 
common  pouch  along  with  the  white  skins  of  their  first  moult.  On  the 
contrary,  I  have  found  cocoons  in  which,  as  late  as  April  20th,  the  young 
had  just  cast  off  the  egg  shell,  and  were  beginning  their  first,  feeble 
movements  in  struggling  with  the  silken  lines  of  their  enswathment.  I 
have  little  doubt  that  the  young  of  Argiope  are  generally  hatched  from 
the  egg  within  a  month  or  six  weeks  after  the  cocoon  has  been  made. 
They,  therefore,  remain  within  the  cocoon  during  the  winter  and  until 
the  season  is  sufliciently  advanced  to  make  their  egress  safe. 

*  Proceedings  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Vol.  VII.,  1866,  page  56. 


208  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

But  ill  the  case   of  females  who,  for  whatever  reason,   have  been  be- 
lated  in   positing  their   eggs,   the  frosts    of    early   autumn    probably   have 
the   effect   of    retarding  the   process  of  development;    and   when 
i^P  ij      the  later  autumn  frosts  and  the  winter  cold  follow,  the  eggs  of 
such   cocoons   remain   unhatched    until    the    first   warm   days   of 
coming  spring  quicken  their  vitality.     This  is  probably  true  of  other  spe- 
cies than  Argiope.     I  have  never  made  any  experiments   upon   the   effect 
of  frost  to  retard  or  prevent  the  hatching  of  spider  eggs,  but  am  inclined 
to  think  that  cold  has  this  effect  upon  them,  as  it  is  known  to  have  upon 
the  development  of  insects. 

On  May  22d,  one  exceedingly  cold  season,  I  found  the  young  of  Epeira 
sclopetaria,  at  Atlantic  City,  all  escaped  from  their  cocoons,  great  num- 
bers of  which  were  fixed  upon  the  cornices  of  various  buildings  around 
the  Inlet  wharf.  At  the  same  time  many  cocoons  of  Epeira  triaranea 
had  the  young  still  within  them.  I  have  had  young  Insular  spiders 
colonized  upon  my  vines  make  their  exode  May  19th. 

M.    Vinson   says    that  July   1st   Gasteracantha   bour- 

bonica,  a  Madagascar  species,  enclosed  in  a  flagon,  had 

fixed    her    cocoon    against  the    side.      On   the   25th    the 

little   spiders   were   hatched.      They   were   perfect    as    to 

their  forms,   but   were   still    imprisoned   within   the   co- 

FiG.  241.  Young  Agaiena  Goou.      They    presented    a    blackish    appearance.     They 

stripping  off  the  first  issucd   from   the   cocoon   and    scattered    on   the   11th   of 

August,  a  period  of  seventeen  days  after  hatching.     So 

that  under    an   African   winter   the    hatching   of    eggs    and    escape   of  the 

young  occupies  a  period  of  forty  days. 

On  the  disengagement  of  young  spiders  from  the  egg  every  part  is  en- 
closed  in  a  membranous   envelope;   they  are   embarrassed   in  their   move- 
ments ;   are  •  unable   to   spin   or   seize   prey,   and   seem   indisposed 

-_     ,,         to   action.     For   the   unrestrained    exercise   of   these  functions   it 
Moult.        .  ..111,1  .  1  IP  1 

IS  requisite  that  they  should  extricate  themselves  from  the  cover- 
ing which  impedes  them.  This  operation,  or,  as  it  may  be  termed,  their 
first  moult,  occurs  after  a  period  whose  duration  is  regulated  principally 
by  the  temperature  and  moisture  of  the  atmosphere.  The  first  moult  in- 
variably takes  place  in  the  cocoon,  or  general  envelope  of  the  eggs,  and 
the  young  spiders  do  not  quit  the  common  nest  until  the  weather  is 
mild  and  genial.^ 

Once,  while  peeping  inside  a  cocoon  of  Agaiena  n£evia,  I  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  observe  a  spiderling  in  the  last  stages  of  this  first  moult. 
While  it  held  on  to  the  flossy  nest  with  the  two  front  and  third  pairs 
of  legs,  the  hind  pair  was  drawn  up  and  forward,  and  the  feet  grasped 
the    upper   margin   of    the    sack    like    shell,    which,    when   first   seen,    was 

^  Blackwall,  "  Spiders  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  Intro.,  page  6. 


COCOON    LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD.  209 

about  half  way  removed  from  the  abdomen.  The  feet  pushed  downward, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  abdomen  appeared  to  be  pulled  upward,  until 
the  white  pouch  was  gradually  worked  off.  (Fig.  241.)  The  motion  was 
not  unlike  that  of  a  child  stripping  ofp  its  night  dress  by  pushing  it  down 
the  body  and  stepping  out  from  the  drapery. 

Life  within  the  cocoon  is  not  wholly  destitute  of  "  moving  accidents " 
and    "hairbreadth   'scapes,"  if   we   may   believe   Professor  Wilder,   who   ar- 
gues that  the  young  of  Argiope  cophinaria  eat  one  another  while 
Cocoon      yg^   within   cocoon    limits.     His   reason  is   that   a   comparison   of 

uanni-  ^^^^  contents  of  cocoons  opened  early  in  the  season  with  those 
o8ilism 

opened  later  showed  that  the  spiderlings  were  fewer  in  number 

but   larger   in   size.^     He  infers   the  same   thing  from  the  fact   that  after 

egress  the  young  do  prey  upon  one  anotlier,  but  without  sufficient  ground, 

as  the  one  fact  by  no  means  implies  the  other.     My  own  observation  has 

been,  of  all  species,  that  the  young  live  together   peacefully  while  within 

the  cocoon.     However,   I   have  chiefly  studied   the  cocoonery  of  our  more 

northern  latitudes. 

In  southern  latitudes,  where  the  hatching  probably  occurs  earlier  with 
some  species,  and  the  period  of  confinement  after  hatching  is  thus  much 
prolonged,  or  the  appetite  of  the  young  quickened  by  the  climate,  hunger 
may  assert  its  supremacy.  Yet,  even  in  the  case  of  some  southern  spiders, 
as  examples  of  Zilla  from  southern  California,  reared  during  winter  in  my 
study  under  conditions  of  temperature  not  very  different  from  their  native 
latitude,  there  never  appeared  a  trace  of  cannibalism  until  after  the  young 
araneads  had  woven  their  first  independent  -  snares.  In  the  case  of  most, 
probably  of  all,  species  in  our  more  northern  climate,  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  four  months  intervening  between  hatching  and  egress,  the  young 
are  probably  more  or  less  torpid  by  reason  of  the  cold,  and  thus  with 
natural  appetite  still  in  abeyance.  Even  in  our  Southern  States  the  influ- 
ence of  season  is  seen  by  a  general  suspension  of  activity  in  the  insect 
and  aranead  world ;  and,  independent  of  climatic  influence,  Nature  doubt- 
less gives  a  semidormant  tone  to  the  spider  young. 

Whatever  may  be  the  truth  as  to  Argiope  and  Nephila,  I  am  certain 
that  many  species  do  not  have  this  cannibal  habit  within  the  cocoon,  nor, 
indeed,  for  some  time  after  egress  therefrom.  Mr.  Pollock's  observations  ^ 
of  Argiope  aurelia,  of  Madeira,  quite  correspond  with  this  statement,  for 
the  broods  were  always  friendly  within  the  cocoon,  and  indeed  for  a  fort- 
night after  leaving  it. 

III. 

The  spiderlings  themselves  procure  exit  from  the  cocoon  in  most  spe- 
cies.    This  is  frequently  accomplished  by  cutting  a  small  opening  through 

1  Proceed.  Am.  Asso.,  VII.,  1873,  page  260.      ^  ^j^.  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  1865,  page  400. 


210  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the  outer  envelopes.     (Figs.  242,  243.)     I  have  noted  these  openings  in  co- 
coons of  Agalena  nsevia  which  were  under  observation  for  that  purpose; 
the  period  at  which  the  openings  were  .cut  was  identified,  and  the 
Egress       little  inmates  seen  peeping  out  at  the  round  doors,  of  which  there 
Cocoon     were,   in  some  cases,   a  number  opened,  from   which   also   they 
escaped  when  the  cocoon  was  agitated.     Similar   openings  have 
.  frequently  been   observed    in   the   cocoons   of   Argiope   cophinaria,   Epeira 
cornigera,   Argyrodes   trigonum,   and    in   numerous   examples   of   Epeiroid, 
Tubitelarian,  and  Laterigrade  cocoons.     In  these,  however,  as  a  rule,  there 
was  only  one  opening,  but  sometimes  two. 

Professor  Wilder  has  recorded   some  facts  upon  this  point,  ^     Cocoons 
of  the  Basket  Argiope  kept  by  him  in  South  Carolina  were  never  seen  to 
be   pierced  by   the   inmates.     Of  four  hundred   and  six  cocoons 
Argiope     obtained  on  James  Island  in  the  spring  of  1865,  only  one  hun- 
naria  ^^^^   ^^^   thirty-four   were   entire,   presenting   no   opening  what- 

Cocoons.  6ver.     Of  the  others  one  hundred  and  ninety  were  pierced  when 
found,  but  no  spiders  came  out  of  these  before  May  10th.     The 
openings  in  them  were  similar  to  that  made  in  a  New  York  cocoon  June 
14th,  by  the  inmates  themselves.     This  hole  was  near  the  pedicle  or  stem 

of  the  cocoon,  and  from  it 
the  young  escaped.  Of  the 
remaining  eighty-two  co- 
coons fifty-nine  were  torn 
in  one  or  more  places,  and 

Fig.  242.  Fig.  243.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  prOCCCdcd  thrOUgh 

Drassid  cocoons,  to  show  the  openings  out  of  which  the  young       the   rcuts.       ProfcSSOr  Wilder 

^     „,„    ^     ,  *^^  escaped.  ^^^^  ^^^  ^  little  bird,  about 

Fig.  242.    Front  view.       Fig.  243.    Side  view.  i  •  /• 

the  size  of  a  sparrow,  fly 
at  a  cocoon  hanging  in  a  tree,  make  one  or  two  quick  pulls  and  then  re- 
treat. He  is  therefore  inclined  to  think  that  all  the  above  rents  were  so 
caused ;  and,  as  these  attacks  would  usually  open  the  cocoon  without  in- 
juring the  inmates,  he  drew  the  inference  that  this  might  be  a  provision 
of  Nature,  somewhat  like  the  fertilization  of  flowers  by  insects,  by  which 
the  invasion  of  the  cocoon  should  really  permit  the  continuance  of  the 
species. 

There  may  be  some  ground  for  this  inference,  but  it  is  certain  that  in 
ordinary  cases  no  such  external  provision  is  required.  Birds  are  much 
Delivery  ^^^P^^®^  *^  ^^^  *^^  silken  material  of  spider  cocoonery  for  their 
by  Birds.  ^^^^  building  operations.  Mr.  Thomas  Meehan,  the  botanist,  has 
seen  the  pewit  engaged  in  collecting  spider's  spinningwork  on  his 
grounds  at  Germantown.  Hummingbirds  are  known  to  make  large  draughts 
upon  spider  webs  for  nest  building  material.      I    have  in  my  collection 


^  Proceed.  Am.  Assoc,  1873,  page  260. 


COCOON  LIFE  AND  BABYHOOD. 


211 


several  nests  built  by  a  Vireo,  the  white  eyed  Vireo  probably  (Vireo  novo- 
boracensis),  which  are  largely  composed  of  the  thick  sheetings  taken  ap- 
parently from  the  cocoons  of  various  Orbweavers  and  the  Speckled  Agalena, 
which  may  all  have  been  abandoned  cocoons.  However,  it  is  extremely 
probable  that  some  of  them  were  filled  with  young  spiders  when  seized. 
Such  seizure  would  not  necessarily  prove  fatal  to  the  young,  as  I  have 
demonstrated  by  experiment,  substituting  my  fingers  for  the  bill  of  a  bird. 

At  the  first  pull,  or  as  soon  as  a  fracture  had  been  made,  a  number  of 
the  wee  fellows  would  run  from  the  cocoon  hurry-skurry  and  take  refuge 
under  surrounding  objects.  When  a  pinch  or  two  more  had  widened  the 
fracture  so  as  to  allow  the  brood  to  escape  freely,  and  the  hand  was  swung 
upward  through  the  air  as  nearly  as  might  be  after  the  manner  of  the 
supposed  robber  bird,  a  long  trail  of  young  spiders  floated  behind,  all 
hanging  on  as  for  dear  life  to  the  filaments  that  streamed  backward  like 
a  kite  tail,  and  which  were  the  united  threads  of  the  whole  evicted  ten- 
antry forced  into  the  utmost  activity  of  their  spinning  organs. 

Nearest  to  the  fingers  the  filaments  were  thickly  placed,  and  here  the 
young  balloonists  were  massed.  Further  on  they  were  less  in  number,  and 
so  to  the  end  of 
this  curious  pennant, 
where  one  or  two 
clung  to  the  taper- 
ing point  of  gossa- 
mer. Of  course,  dur- 
ing the  rapid  motion 
some  of  the  spider- 
lings  were  detached 
from  the  mass  and 
floated  away  upon 
single  or  manifold 
strands.  It  is  thus  easy  to  see  that  a  bird  carrying  a  torn  cocoon  under 
similar  circumstances  might  distribute  a  large  portion  of  a  brood  along 
the  course  of  her  flight  without  destroying  many.  Even  for  those  re- 
maining within  the  cocoon  or  clinging  to  the  shreds  thereof,  there  would 
be  good  chance  to  escape  scot  free  after  the  work  of  weaving  the  silken 
material  into  the  nest  should  begin.  The  action  of  birds  in  opening 
cocoons  is  an  accident  of  which  spiderlings  doubtless  avail  themselves,  but 
it  probably  goes  for  little  or  nothing  in  the  natural  delivery  of  the  brood; 
and  the  peculiar  spinning  habit  of  spiders  tends  to  protect  them  from  the 
violence  of  such  attacks  when  made. 

Mrs.  Mary  Treat  has  informed  me  that  the  young  of  Argiope  cophi- 
naria  have  been  observed  by  her  escaping  through  the  pedicle  or  stem 
of  the  outer  cocoon  case.  A  reference  to  the  figures  of  the  cocoons  of 
this  species   in   Chapter  V.  will  show  how  this  is   done.     The   pedicle  of 


:^ 


Fig.  244.    Young  Agalenas  escaping  from  a  plundered  cocoon. 


212  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the   cocoon   is   a   short   hollow  tube.     Just  below  this    tube   on  the   inside 

is   hung  a   funnel  shaped  silken  cap,  which  is  attached  above  to  a  strong 

silken   cord  composed  of  numerous  fibres,  which  cord  passes  up- 

Bgress  of  T^^p^j   through  the  hollow   stem,   sometimes  forming   an   outward 

„^  attachment  to   some    external   obiect.      It   would   not   be   a   diffi- 

Youngr.  .     ■' 

cult   task   for   the    young   Argiopes   to   work    their   way  between 

the  inner  wall  of  the  cocoon  case  and  this  cap  above  described,  and  so 
along  the  cord  and  out  into  the  air  through  the  pedicle.  If  Mrs.  Treat's 
observation  should  be  established  as  a  conmion  habit,  it  would,  of  course, 
account  for  the  fact  that  Professor  Wilder  found  so  many  of  these  co- 
coons without  any  external  opening.  Simply,  the  spiders  had  crawled 
out  through  the  pedicle;  but  I  believe  this  is  not  common. 

In  the  case  of  many  cocoons  spun  by  Epeira,  and,  indeed,  by  Orb- 
weavers  generally,  there  always  is  a  selvage  uniting  the  upper  to  the 
lower  portions  of  the  outer  case.  As  the  spiders  grow  and  the 
The  period   for   egress    approaches,   this    selvage   appears   to   open,    a 

j^  result   which   is   perhaps   due   in   large   part   to   the  influence  of 

weather  and  time  in  loosening  the  tension  of  the  threads  which 
close  the  edges  of  the  parts.  Through  this  open  selvage  the  spiders  are 
enabled  to  escape  with  comparative  ease.  Even  were  there  no  relaxing 
of  tension  in  the  uniting  threads,  it  would  be  easier  for  the  spiderlings 
to  cut  their  way  out  from  this  part  of  the  cocoon  than  through  the  un- 
broken parts.  A  reference  to  several  of  the  cocoons  described  in  Chap- 
ter V.  will  show  this. 

It  remains  to  be  determined  whether  the  mother  in  some  species  may 
not  be  an  active  agent  in  delivering  or  aiding  the  deliverance  of  the 
brood.  Emerton  once  noticed  a  small  Theridium  gnawing  at  its 
Dehv-  gQf|.  cocoon,  and  found  that  one  side  had  in  this  way  been  made 
J,  . ,  ^  much  thinner  than  the  remaining  parts.  He  placed  the  spider 
Aid.  with    her   cocoon    in   a   bottle,  where   he   could  watch   her.     She 

soon  recommenced  the  biting,  and  kept  it  up  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day.  The  following  night  the  young  came  out.  Of  course 
such  a  habit  could  only  appear  among  those  species  that  brood  or  watch 
over  their  cocoons  until  the  young  are  hatched,  or  among  those  who,  like 
various  Theridioids  and  such  Orbweavers  as  the  Labyrinth  and  Tailed 
spiders,  make  several  cocoons  and  string  them  within  their  snares.  As 
most  cocoons  are  abandoned  by  the  mother  immediately  after  spinning, 
the  enclosed  young  must  escape  without  maternal  aid.^ 

Menge  observes  that  the  warm  rays  of  the  spring  sun  awaken  the  germ 
of  the  eggs,  and  by  the  time  Mother  Nature  has  provided  a  plentiful  supply 
of  flies  and  mosquitoes,  the  young  hatch.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  spiders 
that  they  do  not  leave  the  egg  nest  at  once,  but  remain  until  legs,  palps, 

^  "  Structure  and  Habits  of  Spiders,"  page  104. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD.  213 


skin,  and  all  parts  are  perfected.  By  this  time  the  body  is  covered  with 
hair  and  they  possess  claws  and  bristles ;  they  crawl  about  and  begin  to 
spin,  but  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  cocoon.  They  have  as  yet 
no  need  for  food,  as  sufficient  yelk  is  deposited  in  their  bodies  for  present 
wants. 

After  six  or  eight  days  the  second  moulting  takes  place,  and  they  now 
begin  to  feel  hungry,  and,  when  nothing  else  oifers,  attack  each  other,  the 
strong  devouring  the  weak.  Menge  also  noticed  that  when  kept  impris- 
oned they  will  even  eat  the  old  skin;  but  when  at  liberty  neither  of  these 
extreme  measures  take  place,  as  a  general  thing,  inasmuch  as  plenty  of 
food  is  found  around  the  place  of  their  birth.  At  this  time  each  aranead 
supports  itself  as  Nature  ordained,  and,  its  appetite  becoming  ravenous,  it 
rapidly  increases  in  size  and  development.  For  this  reason  Menge  never 
succeeded  in  carrying  young  ones,  hatched  in  a  glass,  over  this  period  and 
he  doubts  whether  it  can  be  done  at  all,  even  taking  foreign  varieties  (such 
as  American)  for  the  purpose.  He  tried  Le  Bon's  experiment,  feeding  them 
from  quills  filled  with  blood  of  young  pigeons,  but  without  success.  A  few 
of  them  may  suck  the  blood,  but  most  of  them  pay  no  attention  whatever 
to  this  unnaturally  served  food.  Most  grown  spiders  present  the  same  dif- 
ficulty, preferring  to  starve  to  death  rather  than  accept  food  which  they 
do  not  fancy;  even  the  very  insects  on  which  they  live  when  free  are  re- 
fused if  not  caught  by  themselves. 

Menge  often  tried  to  bring  to  maturity  a  yet  undescribed  spider  (Me- 

lanophora),  which  he  found  rarely,  and  always  full  grown;  but  in  this  he 

failed.     Although   the   glass  was  filled  with  flies,  mosquitoes,  po- 

1  cia  ^^YB,,  etc.,  the  spider  left  them  untouched,  and  finally  both  in- 
Difflcult  sects  and  spider  died.  The  same  result  attended  efforts  with 
Saltigrades.  Lineweavers  and  Tubeweavers  were  much  easier  to 
feed,  as  they  attack  everything  that  falls  into  their  web  when  not  too  large 
or  too  much  against  their  taste.  The  easiest  to  keep  in  captivity  are  the 
Lycosids,  which  become  tame  and  will  take  flies  offered  to  them  in  the 
hand.i 

IV. 

After  the   rigors   of   winter   have   been   successfully   endured,  the  warm 
days   of  spring  first   hasten   the   process  of   hatching,  and  then  tempt  the 
spiderlings  from  their  cocoon.     I  have  repeatedly  observed,  dur- 
pen     u"  .^g  ^  series  of  years,  the   issuing   of   broods  and  their  behavior 
immediately  thereafter.     The   observations   have   been   under  fa- 
vorable conditions  within  doors,  and  also  out  of  doors  from  cocoons  trans- 
ferred from  their  original  site  and  affixed  to  branches  of  shrubbery,  and  a 
few  in  original  site.    The  young  of  various  species  representing  Orbweavers, 

^  Menge,  "Preussische  Spinnen." 


214  AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


Tubeweavers,  and  Laterigrades,  especially,  have  been  studied.  The  results 
from  experimental  hatching  are  but  little  different  from  those  which 
everywhere  transpire  in  Nature,  and,  taken  together  with  numerous  facts 
noted  afield,  enable  us  to  accurately  sketch  the  life  of  the  infant  spider 
just  after  deliverance  from  the  cocoon. 

One  example,  followed  consecutively,  will  illustrate  the  habits  of  Orb- 
weavers.     Early   in   May  a  cocoon  of  Epeira  insularis  was  taken  from  a 
tree  on  the  banks  of  the   Schuylkill.     It  had  been  placed  by 
First  ij^g  mother    spider    on    the  under   side  of    a   branch,   where   it 

ays  o       ^^g  ^^^^  protected  from  the   weather,   and    consisted   externally 

Outdoor  „  1       n  P       1    •     T  n  1      T      n  i  ,  i        i  p  .         ,        . 

Life  ^^  ^  "^^^  ^^  thick,  yellow,  curled  noss,  about  one-halt  an  inch  in 

diameter.  (Fig.  245,  C.)  This  was  attached  to  the  limb  by  a 
thin  coating  of  white  tissue,  from  which  short,  strong  cords  entered  the 
ball.  Within  the  ball  were  about  one  hundred  young  spiders,  just  fully 
hatched.  The  cocoon  was  placed  in  a  paper  box,  and  the  spiderlings  re- 
mained shut  up  in  it  until  May  13th.  Meanwhile  they  had  made  their 
first  moult.  This  cocoon  was  now  opened  and  put  within  a  large  covered 
paper  box,  which,  by  a  dent   in  the   side,   had   free   communication   with 

the  outside.  Next  morning  I  found  that 
the  spiderlings  had  issued  from  the  box 
and  woven  a  mass  of  delicate  webbing 
over  the  surrounding  objects  upon  the 
table.  The  lines  were  most  closely  spun 
near  the  points  of  exit,  where  they  re- 
sembled a  delicate  tissue  web.    They  were 

Fig.  245.    Cocoon  (Cj   of  Insular  spider,  on         Carried      aloUg     the     table     OU     OliG    sidc    tO 
the  under  side  of  a  twig.  j*x  £     £t  ii     a.  j.i,  r 

a  distance  oi  five  teet,  on  another  of 
two  feet,  and  the  lines  decreased  in  number  as  the  distance  increased. 
Where  threads  were  dense  the  spiderlings  were  massed  (O,  Fig.  246)  in 
large  numbers,  and  as  the,  lines  thinned  out  the  numbers  decreased,  until 
at  each  of  the  two  points  where  the  spinningwork  ceased  were  one  or  two 
pioneers  engaged  in  pushing  the  lines  further  from  the  centre.     " 

\J[n  point  of  fact,  this  last  sentence  expresses  the  general  instinct  which 
controls  the  young  on  their  first  issue  from  the  cocoon — they  spin  away, 
and  away  from  the  home  cradle,  restlessly  further  and  further,  until  they 
are  arrested  by  satisfactory  surroundings  and  further  flight  is  hindered, 
or  until  they  pause  to  undergo  another  moult.      This  is  undoubtedly  the 

impulse  bestowed  by  Nature  for  the  dispersion  of  the  brood, 
Distnbu-  y^^^Yi  a  view  to  the  distributioB.  and  preservation  of  the  species, 
SDecies      Primarily,  perhaps,  to  the  preservation  of  the  young  from  their 

own  cannibal  propensities.)  In  order  to  test  this  matter  and  de- 
cide the  mode  of  procedure,  I  fixed  attention  upon  one  of  the  outposts. 
Three  feet  from  the  main  assembly  (O,  Fig.  246)  a  single  straggler  had 
carried  or  followed  a  line. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD. 


215 


A  toy  column  from  a  box  of  a  child's  building  blocks  was  placed 
eight  inches  from  the  point  reached  by  the  spiderling,  in  order  to  arrest 
the  thread  which  I  believed  she  would  emit.  Directing  a  magnifying 
glass  upon  her,  I  presently  saw  her  assume  the  attitude  common  to  her 


Fig.  246.    Assembly  of  spiderlings  when  first  escaped  from  cocoon.    O,  the    maze   of 
crossed  lines  found  outside  of  box ;  V,  the  furthest  limit  of  same. 

order  when  about  to  take  aeronautic  flight.  The  eight  legs  were  spread 
in  a  circle,  the  abdomen  elevated,  and  from  the  spinnerets  issued  a  deli- 
cate gossamer  line,  which  was  carried  to  and  fro  in  the  slight  currents 
prevailing  even  in  a  closed  room.  Quite  soon  the  line  entangled  upon 
the  top  of  the  column.  Just  as  the  spider  was  about  to  adventure  upon 
her  tiny  bridge,  a  sister  broodling  reached  her,  at  the  touch  of  whose 
foot  she  instantly  dropped  downward  along  the  side  of  the  table .  and 
hung,  back  underneath,  by  the  emitted  line.  (Fig.  247,  1.)  Meanwhile 
the  new  comer  unhesitatingly  mounted  the  bridge  line  and  crossed  over  the 
column.  (Fig.  247,  2.)  The  journey  was  made  "  hand  over  hand,"  to 
use  a  not  inappropriate  figure,  and  with  the  back  downward,  the  invari- 
able posture  of  all  spiders  on  like  occasions.  .  The  original  pioneer  now 
reascended,  and  straightway  followed  her  predecessor. 
At  this  stage  I  was  summoned  from  the  room  by  a  vis- 
itor, and  when  I  returned,  in  half  an  hour,  a  colony  of 
fifty-three  spiders  had  been  drained  from  the  mass  meet- 
ing at  O,  Fig.  246,  four  feet  distant,  and  were  spread 
over  a  series  of  open  lines  woven  into  a  triangular  net- 
work fence  (Fig.  248,  F),  into  which  the  original  line 
had  now  expanded. 

\This  illustrates  another  marked  tendency  of  the  earliest 
movements,  viz.,  the  bulk  of  the  colony  follow  the  pio- 
neers, and  group  themselves  near  together ;  in  other  words, 
they  are  at  this  stage  gregarious.  \  This  action  was  re- 
peated a  number  of  times  during  the  next  three  days. 
I  found  that  I  could  always  transfer  the  group  to  any 
chosen  spot  by  placing  thereon  some  elevated  object. 
For  example,  I  put  a  second  column  at  y  (Fig;  248), 
eight  inches  from  the  first  column  (x),  and  then  pushed  a  toy  dancing 
puppet  (z)  across  the  table  eighteen  inches  distant  from  x,     In  order  to 


Fig.  247.  Young  Epeira 
practicing  the  drop 
dodge  of  making  a 
foot  basket. 


216 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Pig.  248.  Migration  instinct.  F,  fence  of  netted  lines;  1,  2,  3, 
points  of  first  departure ;  B,  bridge  lines  for  transit ;  n,  final 
assembly  of  spiderlings. 


test  the  effect  of  a  current   of  air,  I  slightly  raised  an  adjoining  window, 
admitting  a  light  play  of  wind    across  the   fence  on  the  column  x.     In 

three  minutes  two  lines 
were  fastened  upon  the  cap 
of  the  puppet,  and  two  spi- 
ders had  begun  to  cross 
from  the  points  marked  2, 
3,  These  lines  were  so  del- 
icate that  I  had  not  seen 
them  until  the  motion  of 
the  spiders  along  invisible 
bridges  directed  particular 
attention  to  the  spots. 
Within  an  hour  all  the 
colony  but  two  had  crossed 
over  the  fence  (F)  to  the 
puppet,  and  were  swarmed  around  the  head,  face,  and  chest  of  the  figure, 
and  upon  a  mass  of  lines  (n)  that  stretched  to  a  wire  (w).  A  triangular 
bridge    of    lines    (B)    had    now    been    formed,   whose    apex    was 

Grega-       ^j-^g  head  of  the  puppet  (z),  and  which  broadened   out,  touching 
i*ioixs 

Habit         ^^^  columns  (y  and  x)   and  connecting  with  the  first  perpendic- 
ular bridge  (F)  by  the  three  principal  points  (1,  2,  3)  from  which 
the  migration  had  proceeded. 

In  the  course  of  three  days,  by  arranging  various  elevated  objects  over 
the  table,  and  breaking  off  the  threads  that  floated  beyond  the  prescribed 
limits,  I  had  induced  the  brood  to  cover  a  space  having  a  linear  boundary 
of  about  twelve  feet.  The  greater  portion  of  the  area  thus  bounded  be- 
came at  last  sheeted  by  a  web  composed  of  the  innumerable  lines  emitted 
by  the  little  spinners,  so  that  the  whole  presented  a  quite  good  miniature 
of  the  canvas  tents  of  a  traveling  circus  company. 

For  long  periods  the  little  creatures  would  hang  quite  still,  separated 
from  each  other  by  distances  varying  from  three-fourths  of  an  inch  to 
one,  two,  and  three  inches.  In  these  rest- 
ing moments  they  hung  inverted  between 
two  lines  which  they  grasped  re- 
spectively by  the  four  feet  on 
either  side;  the  abdomen  was 
elevated  somewhat,  a  short  thread  issued 
from  the  spinnerets,  and  was  attached  to 
an  upper  line,  thus  helping  to  support  the 
body.  (Fig.  249,  1.)  Occasionally  the  two 
hind  legs  grasped  a  cross  line  hung  upon  or  above  the  parallels,  and  the 
thread  from  the  spinnerets  was  also  attached  to  the  cross  line.  (Fig. 
249,  2.) 


Position 
in  Rest. 


Fig.  249.     Position   of  spiderlings  when   at 
rest  upon  assembly  lines. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD. 


217 


A   number   of  cocoons  forwarded   to   me   in   the  early  spring,  by  Mrs, 
Eigenmann,  from  San   Diego,  California,  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  note 

the  tendency  of  young  Orbweavers  in  outdoor  site.  The  co- 
•  ^^ftf  .coons  were  fixed  upon  bushes  within  the  forks  of  branches,  at 
Cocoon  ^^®  time  when  the  young  were  just  ready  to  escape.  They  evi- 
dently felt  the  fresh  air  of  the  open,  as  contrasted  with  the  boxes 
in  which  they  had  been  confined,  and  at  once 
pushed  their  way  from  the  flossy  interior  to  the 
outside  of  the  cocoon.  \^Then  one  adventurous 
spirit  scrambled  to  a  branch  and  began  to  as- 
cend a  stem.  \  Another  and  another  followed, 
each  trailing  a  dragline  along  the  surface,  until 
at  last  several  threads  were  merged  into  one, 
which  the  little  creatures  laid  hold  of  as  suc- 
ceeding numbers  emerged  from  the  cocoon. 
Thus  a  long  line  of  them  appeared  climbing 
up  the  thread,  which  at  places  swung  free 
from  the  stem,  and  at  others  hugged  it  closely. 
(Fig.  250.)  They  reminded  me  of  a  watch  of 
sailors  following  each  other  up  the  shrouds  of 
a  ship. 

Here   and   there,  at  various  points,  individ- 
uals  would   strike   out   an   independent   line   of 

progress,    and    would    be    sure    to   be 

followed  by  some  of   their  comrades. 

One  might  be  seen   dangling  from  a 

leaf  by   a   slender   filament ;    another 

with  elevated  abdomen  sending  out 
the  first  lines  of  a  tentative  balloon;  a  third 
already  embarked  on  an  aeronautic  venture, 
swinging  free  and  swaying  in  the  breeze.  (Fig. 
250.)  \The  general  tendency  was  to  ascend ; 
scarcely  a  spider  went  below  the  point  at  which 
the  egg  sac  was  fixed.^Here  and  there  little 
groups  would  form  and  hang  back  downward 
for  a  while  by  a  few  crossed  threads;  these 
again  would  break  up,  and  at  last,  well  toward 
the  summit  of  the  bush,  the  colony,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  independent  characters,  massed 
themselves  under  a  leafy  shelter,  and  so  remained  pendent  like  a  ball — legs, 
palps,  heads,  and  abdomens  mingled  in  a  confused  mass.  (Figs.  251,  252.) 
This  I  suppose  to  be  a  good  example  of  the  general  habit  at  this  period. 
The  "balling"  or  "snugging"  of  the  brood  is  quite  sure  to  suggest  to  the 
observer  the  appearance  of  a  swarm  of  bees  just  escaped  from  the  home  hive. 


First 
Move- 
ment to 
Ascend. 


Fig.  250.  Cocoon  fixed  upon  a  rose 
bush,  and  spiderlings  issuing  there- 
from. To  show  tendency  to  ascend 
and  migrate. 


218  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


How  long  does  the  brood  remain  thus  massed?     This  depends  greatly 
upon   circumstances,   particularly  the  velocity  of  the  wind   and 
temperature   of  the  air.     A  brisk  wind   and  fair   day  tended   to 
scatter  my  experimental  spiderlings  ver}'^  rapidly ;  indeed,  during  the  after- 
noon and  night.     This  will  best  be  illustrated  by  the  following  case. 

V. 

An  interesting  example  of  the  habit  of  young  spiderlings  immediately 
after  escape  from  the  cocoon,  was  seen  May  23d,  1887,  in  a  ravine  upon 

the  ground  of  Ogontz,  a  young  ladies'  school  in  the  vicinity  of 
A  Tented  p}iila,delphia.     When  observed,'  the  little  creatures  were  snugged 

together  in  a  ball  underneath  a  large  leaf  of  Indian  turnip  or 
Jack-in-the-pulpit  (Ariseema  triphyllum).  Two  smaller  individuals  of  the 
same  plant  stood  on  either  flank.  The  tall  central  plant  served  as  a  sort 
of  tent  pole,  and  from  the  margins  of  the  broad  top  leaves  a  delicate 
silken  tissue  spread  downward  to  the  edges  of  the  shorter  Jacks  mentioned. 
There  was  thus  formed  a  symmetrical  pavilion,  within  which  the  spider- 
lings were  contained,  and  which  presented  all  the  appearance  of  having 
been  constructed  intentionally.  I  am  confident,  however,  that  the  deli- 
cate canvas  wall  of  this  tiny  tent  was  simply  formed  by  the  immensely 
multiplied  threadlets  which  the  colony  continually  dragged  after  them  as 
they  moved  back  and  forth,  up  and  down,  in  the  preparatory  stages  of 
settling  themselves. 

When  first  observed,  the  whole  colony  was  massed  in  a  ball  as  large 
as   a   walnut   underneath   one  of   the   top   leaves.      The   spiders   were   of  a 

yellowish  brown  color,  and  gave  a  pretty  appearance  as  seen 
Jjisper-      through  the  silvery  white  of  the  silken  wall   against  the   green 

background  of  their  tent  roof.  When  I  tapped  lightly  upon 
the  top  of  the  leaf  beneath  which  they  were  snugged,  the  ball  instantly 
broke  up,  and  a  hundred  or  more  of  the  little  fellows  dropped  swiftly 
downward.  Every  one  dragged  after  it  a  silken  attachment,  which  filled 
the  inside  of  the  pavilion  with  perpendicular  lines.  Most  of  the  number 
returned  in  a  little  while  to  their  position.  Some  remained  hanging  at 
various  distances;  a  few  who  had  fallen  quite  to  the  bottom  of  the  tent, 
which  was  limited  by  the  top  leaves  of  the  two  flanking  Jack-in-the- 
pulpits,  ran  out  from  under  the  edge  of.  the  tent  and  extended  their  ex- 
cursion for  a  little  distance  beyond. 

When  I  left  the  brood.  Miss  Skinner,  the  teacher  of  natural  history  in 
Ogontz,  kindly  consented  to  keep  it  under  observation,  and  I  am  indebted 
to  her  for  the  following  history  prolonged  through  a  period  of  ten  days  : 
The  colony  was  first  observed  on  the  morning  of  May  23d.  The  next 
day  was  rainy  and  windy.  On  the  25th  it  was  found  that  great  rifts  had 
been  made  in  the  overhanging  web  or  pavilion  wall  on  the  leeward  side; 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD. 


219 


/U'      ii 


Fig.  251.    The  tent  and  assembly  of  young  spiders  beneath  a  leaf  of 
Jack-in-the-pulpit,  on  the  grounds  of  Ogontz  Seminary. 


220  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

while  on  the  windward  side  it  was  quite  swept  away.  To  quote  the  moral- 
izing sentiment  of  the  journalist,  "their  frail  house  was  more  ragged  than 
good  resolutions  after  a  week's  wear!"  The  spiderlings  remained  snugged 
underneath  their  leaf  as  wlien  first  seen. 

On  the  afternoon  of  May  27th  tlie  little  fellows  had  "  outgrown  their 
clothes,  and  hung  them  on  the  line,  while  they  looked  very  smart  in  their 

new  clothes,  over  which  no  one  had  toiled.     Their  change  of  gar- 

e     mg  jjjgjj^g  ]^g^(^  \Q^\  ^q  j^q  change  of  habits,"  for  they  were  snugged  to- 

Coats         gether   in   a   ball   as  when   first   observed.      In   other  words,  the 

spiderlings  had  undergone  a  moult,  and  their  white  casts  of  skins 
clung  to  the  lines  upon  which  the  moult  had  been  effected.  This  is  usual 
among  young  spiders.  Mrs.  Treat  has  even  observed  the  shed  skins  of 
baby  Turret  spiders^  clinging  to  lines  stretched  across  the  top  of  the 
mother's  abdomen,  upon  which  the  younglings  had  unfrocked  themselves. 
May  29th,  9  A.  M.  The  colonists  were  still  closely  snugged.  They  had 
grown  some,  and  had  thrown  out  a  few  cables  to  support  their  tent,  which 

was  then  quite  rickety.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  they  were 
Disper-  .^^  ^YiQ  same  condition.  May  30th,  5  P.  M.  A  few  individuals 
sion.  „        ,       .      .  ,  T   •    •  1  1  .     . 

were  round  spiimnig  webs  on  an  adjoining  tree,  but  the  majority 

were  "  wandering  in  the  wilderness  of  life,  and  could  not  be  found."  Twenty- 
OTte  still  clung  to  the  old  home.  *  *  *  May  31st,  at  2  P.  M.,  only  five 
spiderlings  could  be  found.  "  These  wandered  about  in  a  forlorn  way  like 
pilgrims  preparing  to  seek  a  shrine  beyond  the  known  country." 

June  1st,  at  3  P.  M.,  not  one  of  the  colony  was  to  be  found.  The  frag- 
ments of  the  web  and  "the  old  clothes"  were  all  that  were  left.  About  a 
rod  beyond  the  site  of  this  colony  Miss  Skinner  found  a  new  ball  of  spider- 
lings, apparently  quite  recently  made ;  I  quote  the  conclusion  of  her  journal, 
which  relates  to  this  second  colony :  "  June  2d.  Something  has  happened 
to  them,  I  know  not  what!  Not  a  trace  is  to  be  found.  So  perish  great 
nations ! " 

Two  of  the  young  ladies  of  the  seminary  made  sketches  of  the  colony 
two  or  three  days  after  the  first  observation.  At  that  time  the  enclosing 
pavilion  had  been  blown  away,  nothing  remaining  but  a  few  straggling 
lines.  I  have  restored  the  pavilion  from  my  own  sketch,  presenting  it  thus 
as  when  first  seen.  (Fig.  251.)  There  is  nothing  to  show  how  many  of 
the  two  Ogontz  colonies  may  have  survived.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  a  few 
scattered  into  the  surrounding  foliage  and  might  have  been  found  quietly 
ensconced  beneath  leaves  or  any  other  sheltered  position,  but  the  proba- 
bility is  that  most,  if  not  all,  of  them  perished.  Such  is  certainly  the 
fate  of  multitudes  of  young  Orb  weavers.^ 

^  Lycosa  arenicola  Scudder.    See  the  author's  "  Tenants  of  an  Old  Fami,"  page  139. 

^  I  reserve  for  the  chapter  on  General  Habits  (under  Moulting)  the  history  of  a  brood 
of  Epeiras  hatched  upon  a  honeysuckle  arbor  in  my  manse  yard,  whose  fortunes  I  followed 
with  particular  interest. 


•  COCOON   LIFE    AND   BABYHOOD,  221 

One  of  the  young  ladies  in  tlic  natural  history  class  of  the  school  wrote 
and  published  in  the  " Ogontz  Mosaic"  a  versified  account  of  the  above 
colony,  which  I  venture  to  add,  as  a  pleasant  description  of  and  happy 
comment  upon  the  incident.  It  may  at  least  serve  to  brighten  for  a  mo- 
ment the  dullness  of  these  pages  of  details,  and  show  that  one  may 
find  a  gleam  of  poetic  fancy  even  in  the  babyhood  of  despised  Arachne's 
children. 

THE    CHILDREN    OF    THE    SPIDER    WEB. 

Under  a  Jack-in-the-pulpit's  care, 

Where  the  shadows  are  deep,  and  the  sunlight  rare 

Tenderly  kisses  the  maiden  hair, 

A  loving  mother  made  her  nest, 

And  never  did  rest 

Till  flossy  blankets  and  silken  sheet 

Enclosed  her  eggs  in  a  safe  retreat. 

The  brood  was  safe,  but  the  mother  dead, 

For  love's  last  act  spent  life's  last  thread, 

And  the  fair  cocoon  was  left  to  swing 

Till  winter's  snow  dissolved  in  spring. 

The  air  was  warm  and  the  sunshine  soft; 

To  and  fro  the  breezes  tossed 

The  tiny  hammock  of  shining  threads, 

Of  shimmering,  silvery  spider  webs. 

Far  from  the  sounds  of  war  and  strife 

Were  the  spider  l)abies  wooed  to  life. 

On  one  bright  day  they  all  awoke. 

Their  prison  dooi-s  they  burst  and  broke ; 

And,  peeping  through  the  barriers  white. 

Discovered  a  wonderful  world  of  light. 

AVith  glad  surprise  they  looked  around. 

Then  a  daring  one,  with  a  single  bound. 

Went  dancing  down  on  a  tiny  thread, 

Making  his  own  little  spider  w^eb. 

Graceful  and  airy, 

A  real  fairy, 
He  entered  this  new  found  land  of  glory. 

The  days  went  by,  and  the  babies  grew. 
Were  their  j)leasures  many,  their  sorrows  few? 
Or  within  the  silken  canopy 

Was  there  acted  out  a  tragedy? 

*       •    *  *  *  *  * 

Shall  we  e'er  know  the  source 

Of  that  wonderful  force 
By  which  the  good  little  mother  wove 
Her  babies'  cradle  with  threads  of  love  ? 
Why  the  eggs  are  laid  by  the  little  wife  ? 
How  the  sunlight  laughs  them  into  life  ? 
Where  the  shadows  are  deep,  and  the  sunshine  rare 
Tenderly  kisses  the  maiden  hair, 
Beneath  the  Jack-in-the-pulpit  rest 
The  mysteries  of  the  spider's  nest. 


222  AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


About  the  middle  of  May,  the  same  spring,  I  watched  the  egress  of   a 
whole  colony  of  the  young  of  Epeira  insularis  from  a  cocoon  which  I  had 
hung  upon  an  ampelopsis  vine  outside  my  study  window.     They 
Tendency  jQoved   with   great  celerity  and   soon  were  widely  scattered   over 
jj  ,     the  vine.  \A.\\  mounted  upwards,  not  a  single  one  descending  be- 

low the  site  of  the  cocoon;  which  habit,  as  I  have  observed,  is 
quite  common  to  all  species^Jl_A  few  days  thereafter  their  tiny  filaments 
could  be  traced  stretched  from  leaf  to  leaf  over  a  large  surface  of  the  vine, 
as  high  as  ten  and  a  half  feet  from  the  ground.  But  not  a  single  web 
was  afterwards  formed  during  the  whole  summer  and  autumn,  and,  as  far 
as  I  know,  every  individual  perished_J  Those  who  are  familiar  with  like 
facts  will  readily  perceive  the  necessity  for  the  immense  fecundity  of  fe- 
male spiders  in  the  production  of  eggs.  Only  under  favorable  circum- 
stances can  considerable  numbers  of  any  single  colony  reach  maturity,  i  My 
observations  on  colonies  of  Epeira  labyrinthea  and  Epeira  triara- 
Mortanty  j^^g^  show  that  twenty,  thirty,  or  fifty  may  survive  for  a  short 
„   . ,  period,  and   construct  in  the  same  vicinity  their  little  orbicular 

lings.  snares.     But  these,  too,  soon  perish  under  the  combined  assaults 

of  their  natural  enemies  and  unfavorable  weather^/  It  is  probable, 
indeed  I  believe  that  it  is  quite  certain,  when  cocoons  are  located  in  spe- 
cially favored  spots,  and  the  young  inhabitants  issue  forth  under  specially 
favored  circumstances,  that  the  majority  of  them  pass  beyond  the  period 
of  babyhood  and  attain  middle  growth,  and  reach  in  goodly  proportion 
mature  life;   but  these  examples  must  be  comparatively  rare. 

VL 

My  observations  of  the  habits  of  spiderlings  immediately  after  egress 
are  confirmed  by  such  brief  notes  as  other  observers  have  made  in  natural 

site.  Emerton  says  (speaking  apparently  from  observation)  that 
servers      ^  brood  of  young  Epeiras  may  often  be  seen  living  in  a  common 

web,  and  looking  like  a  ball  of  wool  in  the  top  of  a  bush ;  while 
below  them,  connected  by  threads  to  their  roost,  are  the  skins  left  at  their 
second  moult,  and  further  down,  also  connected  by  threads,  the  cocoon.^ 
I  have  often  seen  the  young  of  Theridium  tepidariorum,  and  of  the  long 
legged  cellar  spider,  Pholcus  phalangioides,  hanging  in  these  cottony  clus- 
ters at  the  top  of  the  maternal  snare,  the  mother  herself  suspended  beneath. 
The  Orbweavers  thus  appear  to  agree  in  this  habit  with  these  Lineweavers. 
Wilder  also  has  a  brief  reference  in  the  same  direction  to  the  young  of 
Nephila  plumipes,  which,  he  says,  even  after  leaving  the  cocoon,  are  more 
or  less  gregarious,  always  keeping  in  companies,  and  preserving  good  order 
while  moving.  2 

^  Structure  and  Habits,  page  110. 

^  Proceed.  Amer.  Acad.  Arts  and  Sciences,  VII.,  1865,  page  56. 


COCOON  LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD. 


223 


Fig.  252.    Assembly  of  young  spiders,  just  after  escape  from  cocoon, 
balled  beneath  a  rose  bush  leaf. 


224  AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

The  young  of  Epeira  diademata,  as  observed  in  Europe,^  have  a  like 
habit.     In    the    spring,    when    the    spiders    are    newly    hatched,    almost   as 

soon  as  they  leave  the  eggs  they  spin  a  small  irregular  mass  of 

English     almost  invisible   lines,   in   the  middle  of   which   they  cluster   to- 

peira    i'    ^^j^gj.^  forming  themselves  into  a  ball  about  the  size  of  a  cherry 

stone. 2  This  hangs  apparently  in  midair,  and  an  observer  ap- 
proaching it  to  discover  its  nature  touches  some  one  of  the  slender  lines 
by  which  it  is  suspended,  or  some  twig  near  enough  to  communicate  mo- 
tion to  them.  In  an  instant  a  hundred  living  atoms  begin  to  disperse, 
the  solid  little  ball  seeming  for  a  moment  to  be  turning  into  smoke,  so 
minute  are  the  animals,  so  rapid  are  their  motions,  and  so  invisible  the 
means  of  their  dispersion.  After  a  few  seconds,  if  the  disturbance  be  not 
repeated,  the  little  creatures  begin  to  subside  again  into  a  cluster,  which  is 
not  at  once  resto;red  to  its  former  small  size,  since  a  thousand  legs,  how- 
ever minute,  require  a  little  time  for  the  necessary  curling,  packing,  and 
settling  by  which  this  animate  sphere  of  snugging  spiderlings  is  formed. 

A  series  of  careful  observations,  made  and  communicated  to  me  by 
Mrs.  Treat,  confirm  the  above  records  and  furnish  some  interesting  details. 

Females  of  Epeira  harrisonse  ^  were  brought  from  New  Hamp- 
"^^^  .  shire  to  Vineland   in   October,  and  there   made  their   cocoons  in 

o  . ,  the  same  month.     These  the  mothers  fastened  to  the  ceiling  after 

the  fashion  of  the  Domicile  spider,  and  as  long  as  life  lasted 
manifested  an  unvarying  love  and  care  for  the  future  oifspring.  As  soon 
as  a  cocoon  was  completed  the  mother  addressed  herself  to  protecting  it 
from  insect  foes  and  frost.  For  this  purpose  she  scraped  weather  beaten 
boards  with  her  mandibles,  and  made  little  pellets  of  the  gray  chippings, 
with  which  she  covered  the  cocoon,  which  thus  resembled  somewhat  a  nat- 
ural inequality  in  the  w'ood. 

The  younglings  did  not  leaVe  the  cocoon  until  the  following  spring. 
When  they  first  came  out  they  moved  about  six  inches  distant  and 
formed  a  compact  mass  like  a  miniature  swarm  of  bees,  in  which  con- 
dition they  remained  a  day  or  two.  Finally,  the  mass  broke  up  and 
formed  four  groups,  in  which  they  remained  another  day.  Then  they 
separated,  and  the  united  spinning  labors  of  the  entire  brood  made  a 
thick  web  five  or  six  inches  in  length  and  breadth.  Herein  they  left 
their  first  baby  clothes  strung  thickly  along  the  innumerable  lines.  There- 
after they  began  to  disperse,  scattering  everywhere  around  the  house,  each 
spinning  a  perfect  little  orb  not  much  larger  than  a  silver  dollar.  At 
this  stage  the  observer  began  to  look  upon  her  spiderling  emigrants  with 
dismay.      Several    hundred    must   have    emerged   frpm   each   cocoon ;    and, 

^  Staveley,  British  Spiders,  page  239. 

2  There  must  be  a  mistake  here  as  to  size ;  the  clusters  of  Diademata  would  surely  be 
much  larger.  ^  Epeira  cinerea  Emerton. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD.  225 


besides,  a  number  of  half  grown  specimens  brought  from  New  England 
with  the  colony,  would  be  mothers  in  the  fall.  Thus,  with  the  actual 
and  prospective  issue,  an  aranead  invasion  seemed  imminent,  carrying 
therewith  the  prospect  that  house,  vineyard,  and  grounds  would  be  en- 
swathed  and  shrouded  in  cobwebs. 

Mrs.  Eigenmann  has  informed  me  of  like  behavior  on  the  part  of  the 
young  of  Epeira  gemma,  at  San  Diego,  California.     A  number  of  females 
had  been  placed,  about  the  1st  of  November,  in  tin  cans,  where 
California  ^j^gy  (deposited  their  large  tawny  brown  cocoons.     The  cans  with 
,.  their  enclosed  cocoons  were  placed  aside,  and  when  opened  Feb- 

ruary 5th  following,  an  interval  of  three  months,  they  contained 
numbers  of  little  yellow  spiders,  marked  with  a  black  spot  posteriorly  on 
the  abdomen.  One  can  was  put  out  of  doors  and  opened.  In  a  few  hours 
a  silken  ladder  of  delicate  lines  had  been  made  from  the  tip  upward 
eighteen  inches  to  the  buds  and  flowers  of  Encelia  californica  growing 
in  the  garden.  At  the  top  the  ladder  was  attached  to  a  bud  which  was 
bent  downward,  and  between  it  and  the  stem  of  the  plant  some  filmy 
spider  weaving  served  as  a  scaffold.  Upon  this  the  spiderlings  had  as- 
sembled in  three  separate  bunches,  somewhat  triangular  in  outline,  which 
suggested  to  the  observer  tiny  bunches  of  very  prolific  grapes.  Mrs.  Eigen- 
mann reinclosed  the  spiders  within  the  tin,  in  order  to  ship  them  to  me, 
but  in  the  act  many  escaped.  The  rest  arrived  safely,  and  immediately 
upon  the  opening  of  the  can  issued  forth  and  began  to  spin  their  delicate 
filaments. 

VII. 

The  brood  fraternity  of  spiderlings,  in  connection  with  their  rapidly 
developed  tendency  to  spin  themselves  away  from  the  home  centre,  leads 

to  the  accidental  formation  of  objects  that  curiously  resemble 
Bridge  bridges,  canopies,  and  tents.  When  they  begin  to  move  they 
^  ,  .  drag  after  them   fine   filaments  of  silk.     A  hundred  spiderlings, 

more  or  less,  passing  from  point  to  point  and  back  and  forth 
by  single  bridge  lines,  and  keeping  close  together,  will  not  be  long  in 
laying  out  a  series  of  lines  and  ribbons  that  suggest  miniature  roadway 
trestles  and  cables  of  a  wire  bridge. 

One  of  the  most  curious  miniatures  of  this  sort  which  I  have  known 
was  once  made  in  my  library.  A  package  of  cocoons  of  Zilla  x-notata, 
sent  to  me  from  California  by  Mrs.  Eigenmann,  was  laid  upon  a  long 
table.  One  morning,  upon  entering  the  room,  I  found  that  the  spiders 
had  hatched  and  issued  from  the  openings  in  the  lid  of  the  package,  a 
large  cylindrical  fruit  can.  From  the  summit  of  this  can,  as  from  a 
bridge  pier,  the-  spiderlings  had  strung  their  lines  to  books  and  paper 
boxes  laid  upon  the  table,  and  thus  formed  a  series  of  piers  and  abut- 
ments.    They  had  already  woven  a  sheeted  way  several  inches  wide,  that 


226 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


stretched  above  the  middle  of  the  table  for  five  feet.  Thence  it  spread 
upward,  in  diverging  threads,  to  the  window  curtain,  on  which  many  of 
the  wee  adventurers  hung.  (Fig.  253.)  I  kept  the  bridge  for  several 
days,  during  which  time  the  roadway  received  many  additional  strings, 
and  some  of  the  baby  bridge  builders  spun  delicate  little  cobwebs  along 
the  edges  and  among  the  trusses  of  their  bridge,  and,  separating  them- 
selves from  their  fellows,  set  up  housekeeping  for  themselves. 

Another    example    shows   that   precisely   the   same   habit    exists  among 


Fig.  253.    Bridge  of  spinuingwork  laid  by  a  brood  of  Epeiroid  spiderlings. 

spiders  widely   separated   in   structure.     A   large   specimen   of    Ctenus  was 

sent  to  me  by  Prof.  S.  M.  Scudder,  who  had  received  it  from  a 

Young  friend.     The   animal   had  come  from  Central  America,  and  had 
Citi-                                                                . 

,  brought  her   cocoon  with  her.     This  was  a  large   conical   obiect 
gfrades.               ^  &  j 

nearly  an  inch  in  diameter,  constructed  like  the  ordinary  Lyco- 
sid  cocoon.  The  mother  with  her  egg  bag  was  placed  in  a  box,  and  after 
a  few  days,  tired  of  lugging  her  cradle,  hung  it  to  the  side  of  the  box  in 
a  hammock  of  loosely  meshed  lines.  It  was  not  long  before  an  immense 
host  of  little  Ctenids,  several  hundreds  in  number,  issued  from  the  cocoon, 
crawled  out  of  an  opening  in  the  cover  of  the  box,  and  distributed  them- 
selves over  a  large  study  table  in  my  room  at  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD. 


227 


On  opening  the  door  one  morning  I  was  surprised  to  find  every  object 
upon  the  table — books,  manuscript,  pamphlets,  bottles,  inkstand — including 
the  box  in  which  the  mother  spider  was  contained,  literally  cov- 
ered with  a  mass   of  sheeted   spinningwork,  which  lay  over  the 
tops  of  the   objects   on   the   table   like  a   thin   silken   cloth.      It 
showed  the  inequalities  of  those  objects,  thus  presenting  a  good 
miniature  model  of  the  immense  cantonment  of  a  modern  trav- 
eling  circus   company.     This   remarkable   structure   concentrated   upon  the 
tallest   object   on  the   table,  a   large  box  standing   at  one  corner.     To  this 


A  Can- 
tonment 
and 
Tower. 


^J^-'^'i^KV 


Fig.  254.    Bridge  lines,  canopies,  and  turret  spun  by  a  brood  of  young  Citigrade  spiders  (Ctenus). 


point,  evidently,  the  migrating  brood  had  drifted,  and  here  a  strange  sight 
was  presented.  \Pavored  by  the  breeze,  one  adventurous  spider  had  ap- 
parently found  its  output  line  borne  upward  until  it  caught  upon  the  ceil- 
ing. Up  it  mounted,  and  in  a  little  while  was  followed  by  others,  each 
spiderling  dragging  after  it  a  similar  thread,  until  at  last  a  tower  like 
structure  was  formed,  the  base  of  which  is  represented  in  the  drawing. 
Fig.  254,  reaching  entirely  to  the  ceiling  of  the  room,  a  distance  of  eight 
or  ten  feet.     At  several  places  along  this  were  lines  which  issued  towards 


228  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the  window  and  other  parts  of  the  room,  marking  points  where  little  ad- 
venturers, following  their  inherent  tendency,  had  departed  from  their 
"  Eiffel  Tower "  of  spinning  threads,  and  dispersed  into  other  parts  of  the 
building. 

VIII. 

A  valuable  account  of  life  within  the  cocoon  of  a   mother   Argiope   is 
given   by  Frederick    Pollock,  Esq.^     The  cocoon,  which  resembles   substan- 
tially that  of  Argiope  argyraspis,  contained  from  six  hundred  to 
Arg-iope     Qj^p  thousand  bright  yellow  eggs  glued  together  in  the  shape  of 

„  ■     a   bean.     The  egg  shells  burst   at  the   end   of   the  fourth  week. 

Cocoon  ^'^ 

Life  '^^^^  spiders  at  that  time   were   helpless   and   nearly  transparent. 

At  the  end  of  the  fifth  week  they  cast  ofp  their  first  skin  and 
became  quite  lively  and  active.  Their  color  at  this  time  was  a  bright 
yellow,  with  darkish  legs.  Their  bodies  were  about  the  size  of  an  ordi- 
nary pin  head.  Three  or  four  da,rk  spots  gradually  developed  down  each 
side  of  the  abdomen.  At  about  the  end  of  the  seventh  week  the  spider- 
lings  emerged  through  a  small  hole  probably  gnawed  by  them. 

After  departure  from  their  cocoon  their  habits,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Pol- 
lock, agree  with  those  of  young  Epeiroids  as  heretofore  described.  They 
club  harmoniously  togetlier,  hanging  closely  packed  in  a  ball,  upheld  by 
numerous  lines  attached  to  adjacent  objects.  This  community  life  con- 
tiimes  for  ten  days  or  a  fortnight,  the  spiders  occasionally  sej^arating  them- 
selves from  their  snugged  or  balled  estate,  but  always  reverting  to  it.  Dur- 
ing this  time  they  eat  nothing. 

At  the  close  of  a  fortnight  this  friendly  condition  ceases.  The  indi- 
viduals of  the  brood  scatter  abroad,  and  each   individual   makes  a  round 

web  about  the  size  of  a  penny.  Mr.  Pollock  conjectures  that  on 
.^  ,  account  of   the   extreme  weakness  of   these  webs   few  insects   are 

held  by  them,  and  that  in  consequence  hundreds  of  spiderlings 
at  this  precarious  period  of  their  existence  perish  from  starvation  or  other 
causes.     He  thinks  that  not  more  than  one  or  two  out  of  the  entire  brood 

survive.  In  this  estimate  of  mortality  he  is  doubtless  correct  as 
Mortanty  f^y.  g^g  certain  seasons  are  concerned.  A  heavy  storm  will  destroy 
.,  a  whole  brood.     The  presence  of  some  skillful  enemy  will  work 

Young-.      '^  similar  destruction,  but  under  favorable  circumstances  quite  a 

number  of  the  brood  will  survive.  The  contingencies,  however, 
are  uncertain,  and  the  life  of  baby  spiders  during  the  first  few  weeks  of 
their  existence  hangs  by  an  even  weaker  thread  than  that  which  they  spin. 
Their  little  webs  are  strong  enough  to  hold  microscopic  insects,  the  only 
kind  that  spiderlings  could  prey  upon  at  their  time  of  life. 

^  On  the  History  and  Habits  of  Epoira  aurelia.  Annals  and  Magazine  of  Natural  His- 
tory, page  459. 


COCOON    LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD.  229 


When  young  Aurelia  begins  to  construct  snares  it  also  begins  to  feed, 
to  grow,  and  become  darker.     Mr.  Pollock  thinks  that  in  a  month  or  two 

from  that  time,  according  to  the  food  it  gets,  the  spiderling 
p    .    ,        changes  its  skin.     The  females  have  nine  changes  after   leaving 

the  cocoon.  From  the  first  to  the  eighth  moult  these  changes 
take  place  pretty  regularly,  under  favorable  circumstances,  at  periods  in- 
creasing gradually  from  about  fifteen  to  twenty-five  days.  For  about  two 
days  preceding  each  change  the  spider  seems  to  eat  nothing,  and  remains 
motionless. 

The  operation  of  getting  out  of  the  old  skin  is  a  strange  looking  per- 
formance, and  is  thus  effected  :  The  spider  is  fastened  firmly,  by  a  thread 

from  the  spinnerets,  close  to  the  under  side  of  the  web;  the 
.|^  ...  legs  are  all  gathered  together,  and  appear  to  be  fixed  to  a  spot 
'  close  by ;  the  body  hangs  downwards,  the  skin  begins  to  split 
at  the  sides,  and  the  spider,  by  a  succession  of  powerful  efforts,  lasting 
about  an  hour,  gradually  draws  its  legs  out  of  the  old  skin.  When  fairly 
freed,  its  former  attitude  is  reversed,  for  it  hangs  with  the  end  of  its 
abdomen  uppermost  and  its  legs  dangling  loosely  down ;  they  are  now 
quite  soft,  flexible,  and  semitransparent,  the  abdomen  slender,  and  the 
spider  feeble  and  exhausted.  It  can  scarcely  crawl  or  exert  itself  in  any 
way.  It  remains  stationary  for  about  an  hour,  then  turns  its  legs  up, 
and  climbs  by  its  attaching  line  to  the  web,  where  it  remains  motionless 
for  some  forty-eight  hours,  after  which  it  resumes  its  usual  habits. 

Should  it  at  any  time  whilst  young  lose  a  limb  or  part  of  one,  nothing 
appears   to   occur   towards   its    reproduction   until   at   least   one   subsequent 

change  of  skin  has  taken  place;  the  new  leg  is  not  much  more 
Lost  than  half  the   length  of  the  corresponding   perfect  part,  and   is 

jj     ,        ,    of  a  somewhat  lighter   color.     These  stunted   limbs   Mr.  Pollock 

thought  of  little  use  to  the  spider ;  and  he  could  not  notice  that- 
there  was  any  reproduction  of  limbs  lost  after  the  seventh  change  of  skin. 
The  moults  take  place  regularly  from  the   first    (after  leaving  the   co- 
coon)   till    the    eighth.      Then  the    spider   is    adult,    and    begins    making 

cocoons,  the  first  in  a  month's  time,  and  others  at  periods  within 
Begm-  from  about  fifteen  to  twenty-five  days  apart.  About  a  week 
^  after   the   fifth   cocoon   has    been   made    the    spider    changes    its 

skin  for  the  last  time,  rests  from  its  egg  laying  for  about  thirty 
days,  makes  five  more  cocoons  at  intervals  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
days,  and  dies  a  week  or  so  after  making  its  last  one. 

The  spots  on  the  sides  of  the  abdomens  of  young  Aurelias  gradually 
disappear,  and  give  place  to  handsome  markings  of  regular  transverse 
bands  across  the  abdomen  of  silver  and  orange  alternating  with  black,  a 
silver  thorax,  and  transverse  stripes  of  brown  and  black  on  the  legs,^ 

1  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  1865,  pages  460,  461. 


230  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


IX. 

Naturalists  have  at  various   times  recorded   descriptions  of   "  gregarious 
spiders,"  which  have  attracted  especial  interest  by  their  singularity.     Dar- 
win  mentions   a   "  gregarious    Epeira "   found   in   great   numbers 

Grega-       j^^j^j.  gj.    ^e  Bajada,  the  capital  of  one  of   the   provinces  of   La 

rious 

g  . ,  Plata.     The  spiders  were  large,  of  a  black  color,  with  ruby  marks 

Darwin.  ^^  their  backs,  and  were  all  of  one  size,  so  that  they  "  could  not 
have  been  a  few  old  individuals  with  their  families."  ^  The  ver- 
tical webs  were  separated  from  each  other  by  a  space  of  about  two  feet, 
but  were  all  attached  to  certain  common  lines  of  great  length,  that  extend- 
ed to  all  parts  of  the  community.  In  this  manner  the  tops  of  some  large 
bushes  were  encompassed  by  the  united  nets.  These  gregarious  habits  in 
so  typical  a  genus  as  Epeira  seemed  to  the  distinguished  author  to  "  pre- 
sent a  singular  case  among  insects  which  are  so  bloodthirsty  and  solitary 
that  even  the  sexes  attack  each  other."  In  point  of  fact  Mr.  Darwin 
had  only  come  across  a  brood  of  Epeiroids,  who,  for  some  reason  of  en- 
vironment, as  protection  from  the  wind,  freedom  from  enemies,  or  abun- 
dance of  food,  or  from  sluggishness  of  nature,  had  kept  wdthin  a  com- 
paratively limited  space  after  egress  from  the  cocoon.  It  is  therefore 
not  allowable  to  speak  of  this  colony  as  a  "  community,"  in  the  ordinary 
sense  of  the  word  as  applied  to  such  social  insects  as  ants,  termites,  bees, 
and  wasps. 

Don  Felix  de  Azara  had  the  same  misconception,  if  indeed  it  be  one. 
Although  the  family  of  spiders,  he  says,  is  for  the  most  part  regarded  as 
of  solitary  habit,  there  is  one  in  Paraguay  which  lives  in  a  com- 
Spider  munity  to  the  number  of  more  than  a  hundred  individuals. 
ommu-  -^g^^Yi  spider  builds  a  nest  larger  than  a  hat,  and  suspends  it  aloft 
Azara  ^^  ^^^  canopy  of  a  high  tree  or  the  ridge  piece  of  a  roof,  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  be  a  little  sheltered  from  above.  From  this  a 
great  number  of  threads  issue  in  all  directions,  into  every  available  part. 
The  lines,  in  fact,  are  fifty  or  sixty  feet  long,  white  and  thick.  ■  They  are 
traversed  by  other  threads  of  great  fineness,  upon  which  are  entangled 
winged  ants  and  other  insects,  which  serve  as  food  for  the  community  of 
spiders,  each  individual  of  which  eats  what  itself  had  trapped.  These  spi- 
ders all  die  in  autumn,  but  leave  in  their  nest  eggs  which  are  hatched  out 
the  ensuing  spring.'^  In  both  the  above  cases  the  facts  are  undoubtedly 
recorded  correctly;   but  the  inference  from  them  can  scarcely  be  justified. 

Darwin,  who  briefly  refers  to  the  account  of  Azara,  appears  to  be  quite 
right  in  thinking  the  Spaniard's  "  community "  to  be  of  the  same  species 
as  his   own,   although  Walckenaer  gives   in   a  note   the    opinion   that  the 

^  Voyage  of  Beagle,  Vol.  III.,  Zoology. 

2  Voyages  dans  L'Am^rique  Meridionale.  Par  Don  Felix  de  Azara.  Tome  Premier,  page 
212,  1806.    Walckenaer's  French  edition. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD. 


231 


H 


L 


K, 


Fig.  255.  A  colony  of  young  Epeira  triaranea  upon  a  lattice  screen.  The 
rudimentary  nest  is  shown  in  the  angles,  and  the  orientation  of  the  free 
radius  illustrated. 


232  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

spinningwork  indicated  a  Lineweaver — Theridium,  perhaps.  Darwin,  how- 
ever, saw  no  "  central  nest "  in  which  the  eggs  were  laid ;  and  here  I 
.  think  he  misreads  Azara,  who  appears  to  me  to  mean  that  every 
orbweb  has  a  cocoon  or  string  of  cocoons  attached  to  it,  pre- 
cisely as  is  the  case  with  Cyclosa  caudata,  or  hung  in  the  retitelarian 
labyrinth  above  the  orb,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Labyrinth  spider.  That 
Darwin  saw  no  cocoons  is  not  strange,  for  his  observation  was  made  in 
spring  ("May-June"),  and  as  the  colony  was  evidently  a  spring  brood, 
doubtless  immature,  the  pairing  had  not  begun,  and  the  eggs  would  not 
have  been  deposited  until  autumn,  which  in  fact  was  the  time  when  Azara 
saw  them.  The  two  accounts  do  not,  therefore,  contradict,  but  confirm 
each  other.  All  the  details  of  these  two  narratives — the  number  of  the 
brood,  the  uniformity  of  the  size,  the  distance  by  which  the  individual 
webs  were  separated,  the  straggling  uniting  threads,  which  were  probably 
simply  incidental  to  the  Orbweavers'  habitual  behavior,  and  not  an  essen- 
tial part  of  the  snare — seem  to  me  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  these 
were  not  "  communities,"  but  simply  accidental  assemblages  of  individuals, 
each  one  of  which  still  maintained  its  solitary  habit.  Nevertheless,  one 
should  express  this  opinion  with  some  reservation  in  view  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  Nature. 

The  opinion  here  expressed  is  largely  based  on  studies  of  broods  both  in 
artificial  sites  and  afield.  I  have  often  found  small  groups  of  the  Laby- 
rinth spider,  which  have  been  spoken  of  as  "colonies,"  occupy- 
p^l  ®.  ing  one  bush,  and  presenting  an  appearance  in  kind  the  same  as, 
but  greatly  less  in  degree,  than  the  broods  described  by  Azara 
and  Darwin.  I  have  seen  snares  of  young  Triaraneas  hung  along  the 
strips  of  a  latticed  chicken  house,  in  great  numbers  and  close  contiguity, 
more  than  forty  of  such  webs  appearing  within  a  space  of  fifteen  feet. 
Another  similar  colony  appeared  in  the  latticed  screen  of  a  cottage  kitchen 
at  Asbury  Park,  a  section  of  which  is  given  at  Fig.  255.  The  rudimentary 
nests  appear  in  the  angles;  and  the  tendency  of  the  species,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  life,  to  preserve  the  characteristic  open  sector  and  free  radius  at 
the  top  of  the  orb,  is  well  shown,  as  also  the  disposition  to  vary  the  loca- 
tion of  the  nest  to  right  or  left,  according  to  convenience  or  whim. 

An  old   stone  barn  in  the  vicinity  of   Philadelphia  has   at   times   pre- 
sented to  me  an  appearance  most  interesting  and  beautiful,  by  reason  of  the 
immense    number    of    orb  webs"  spread    over    one   of    the  gables. 
,  .  %"      Placing  the  face  close  to  the  wall  so  as  to  get   the  right  reflec- 
Bam.         ^^^^  ^^  light,  I  saw  the  whole  surface  of  the  building,  from  foun- 
dation  to   roof,  covered  with  orbs   as  closely  set  as  space  would 
well   allow.      Along   the   cornice   of   the   roof    they  were   especially   massed 
in  manner  not  at  all  unlike  the  "community"  of  Azara,     As  the  morning 
light  played  upon  the  beaded  spirals  and  white  strands,  or  flashed  in  rain- 
bow colors  from  gathered  dewdrops,  the  whole  showed  a  natural  decoration 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD. 


283 


Fig.  256.    A  colony  of  Orbweaving  spiders,  formed  on  lines  spun  between  boat  houses 
extending  into  an  inlet  of  the  sea. 


234 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Acci- 
dental 
Assem 
blage. 


quite  beyond  the  power  of  liunian  art.  These  orbs  were  not  all  of  one 
dimension,  although  multitudes  did  agree  in  size,  but  they  were  nearly 
all  of  two  species,  Epeira  strix  and  Epeira  triaranea,  principally  the  former. 
They  were  undoubtedly  composed  of  several  broods  of  these  ara- 
neads,  of  an  equal  age,  who  had,  under  favorable  circumstances, 
been  distributed  in  the  same  vicinity.^  I  may  here  again  refer 
(see  Vol.  I.,  page  64)  to  the  numerous  colonies  of  Epeira  sclo- 
petaria  which  domicile  within  a  limited  area  upon  the  surfaces 
of  the  boat  houses  at  Atlantic  City  and  Cape  May,  as  another  example 
of   accidental  rather  than  gregarious  assemblage.     These  colonies  spin  their 

orbs  between  the  outer  walls, 
above  the  Inlet  waters  and 
hang  the  snares  to  foundation 
lines  ten  and  fifteen  feet  long. 
(Fig.  256.) 

My  notes  show  several  ob- 
servations of  this  kind  :  At 
the  summit  of  a  tall  branch- 
ing weed  had  been  woven  a 
large  orbweb,  which,  probably 
after  it  had  been  abandoned, 
was  occupied  by  a  group  of 
young  Epeiroids,  Furrow  spi- 
ders. These  little  settlers,  with 
a  fine  acquisitiveness  that  sug- 
gested the  once  famous  Amer- 
ican theory  of  "  squatter  sov- 
ereignty," had  seized  upon  the 
araneal  commons,  and  every 
one  appropriating  to  itself  a 
corner  or  segment  of  the  ter- 
ritory, had  woven  a  small  orb- 
web. These  snares  were  pitched 
between  the  radii,  which  in 
places  were  cut  away,  and 
which  made  excellent  founda- 
tion lines.  (Fig.  257.)  This  certainly  seemed  a  canny  operation,  and  might 
have  been  held  to  savor  of  economy  did  not  one  know  the  prodigality  of 
spiders  in  the  matter  of  their  spinningwork. 

This  use  of  large  abandoned  webs  I  have  elsewhere  seen  afield  and  also 
around  houses,  once  in  a  hotel  outbuilding,  once  in  a  broken  window  of  a 


Fig.  257.    Young  Orb  weavers  nested  on  an  adult  snare. 


1  I  have  observed  the  same  phenomenon  at  the  Fish  House  of  the  historic  dub  in  the 
"  State  of  Schuylkill,"  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  River  in  Philadelphia. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD. 


235 


tannery.  (Fig.  258.)  I  had  never  raised  the  thought  of  a  "  community " 
to  account  for  these  groupings,  for  I  knew  that  the  species  represented 
therein  liad  the  solitary  habit  characteristic  of  Orbweavers. 

Another  example  fell  under  my  observation,  which  more  closely  resem- 
bled those  cited  by  Darwin  and  Azara.  I  once  found  on  the  slopes  of 
Brush  Mountain,  Pennsylvania,  just  above  the  banks  of  the  Juniata  River, 
a  large  colony  of  the  young  of  Uloborus  plumipes.  Their  pretty  horizontal 
webs  were  spread  over  the  tops  of  a  clump  of  low  laurel  bushes  covering 
an  area  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  It  needed  only  increased  size  and 
more  vigorous  spinningwork  to  establish  a  close  correspondence  between 
the  appearance  of  this  brood's  en- 
campment and  the  "  community  " 
of  La  Plata. 

A  case  somewhat  similar  to  this 
is  recorded  by  Vinson  as  observed 
in  the  African  island  of  Reunion.^ 
In  the  great  net  of  the  Epeiroids, 
stretched  between  trees  of  Panda- 
nus,  one  might  count  the  inmates 
living  in  colony  (en  famille),  and 
in  real  harmony.  There  were 
found  spiders  of  all  ages  and  sizes; 
there  were  Nephila  nigra  and  N. 
inaurata,  messmates  so  hearty ;  and 
there  came  the  Linyphise  to  estab- 
lish themselves  upon  these  huge 
snares  in  order  to  glean  the  petty 
prey.  It  is  Vinson's  opinion  that 
these  little  aranead  parasites  sought 
the  protection  of  the  large  Orb- 
weavers  by  suspending  themselves 
thereto  in  innumerable  quantities, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  birds  and  other  enemies.  Probably  the  "  seeking " 
consists  in  the  simple  and  natural  fact  that  the  young  were  bred  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  webs,  and  continued  where  they  were  hatched,  avail- 
ing themselves  of  the  spare  spaces  in  the  webs  of  their  gigantic  kindred, 
precisely  as  the  little  Furrow  spiders  of  our  figures.  (Figs.  257,  258.)  The 
Linyphias,  however,  apparently  presented  a  case  of  real  nest  parasitism. 


Fig.  258.  "Squatter  sovereignty."  A  colony  of  young 
Epeira  sclopetaria,  formed  upon  a  large  orb  in  an 
open  window. 


X. 

Thus  far  our  observations  upon  the  habits  of  young  spiders  have  been 
chiefly  confined   to  the  broods  of  Orbweavers.     We  turn  now  to   consider 


'  Araneides  des  Isles  de  la  Reunion,  etc.,  pages  xix.,  xxi. 


236 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the  habits  of  the  younglings  of  other  tribes.  We  shall  find  that,  in  propor- 
tion as  the  general  habits  of  the  species  approach  one  another,  there  is  a 
likeness  in  the  behavior  of  the  young.  Between  Lineweavers 
Young  ^^^  Orbweavers  there  is  little  difference.  Their  cocoons  are  com- 
rp  .,  monly  suspended  within  the  intersecting  lines  that  constitute  the 

regular  snare.  The  little  ones  issue  from  the  cocoon  and  arrange 
themselves  in  fluffy  masses,  following  the  tendency,  which  has  already  been 
noted,  to  climb  as  far  towards  the  top  as  they  can.  Here  they  remain  for 
a  little  while  undisturbed  by  the  mother  and,  as  far  as  I  know,  unre- 
garded by  her.  Soon  they  spin  themselves  away  to  various  convenient 
sites  in  the  neighborhood,  and  establish  housekeeping  for  themselves.  Thus, 
in  the  case  of  those  spiders  which  weave  several  cocoons,  one  brood  after 
another  will  appear  and  disappear. 

Pholcus   phalangioides,   the   "  daddy  longlegs "   or   cellar   spider   of   our 

province,  carries  her  bundle  of  eggs  in  her  jaws  until  the  little  ones  are 

ready  to  hatch,  when  she  abandons  them  and  they 

take   their   place,    in  accordance  with   the  custom  of 

other  Lineweavers,  at  the  top  of  the  home  snare._ 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  young  Lineweavers 
reared  within  the  limits  of  the  maternal  snare  have 
precisely  the  same  habit  as  Orbweavers,  like  Epeira 
labyrinthea,  that  deposit  their  cocoons  near  their 
orbs  within  a  supplemental  snare  of  retitelarian  lines. 
The  young  of  Agalena  na^via  remain  within  the 
cocoon  until  they  are  lively  little  creatures  covered 
with  black  hairs,  apparently  well  able  to  skirmish 
saitigrades,  Epibiemum  seen-  for  themsclvcs.     They  then  issuc  forth,  and  may  be 

Her^an^r*^''   ^^''''    ^^^^'  ^^^^^   ^^  S^^^*   multitudes    upou    a    dewy    morning 
hanging   beneath  little  sheeted  webs  spun  upon  the 
grass,  leaves,   upon   the   roadside,    and   even   within   the   furrows   of   newly 
plowed   fields.     They   are   pretty  little   snares  when  thus  covered 
with   the   beaded  drops  of  morning  dew,   forming  beautiful  ob- 
jects for  study  under  a  common  pocket  lens. 

Tegenaria  medicinalis  presents  little  difference  from  Agalena  in  the  gen- 
eral habit  of  the  young.  They  leave  the  egg  nest,  rapidly  disperse,  and 
spread  themselves  into  the  neighborhood  and  immediately  construct  their 
characteristic  webs. 

The  tendency  of  young  spiders  of  the  Wandering  tribes  to  form  colo- 
nies is  not  very  decided,  as,  of  course,  the  manner  in  which  the  young- 
lings are  reared  within  the  mother's  nest  until  they  are  able  to  set  up 
housekeeping  for  themselves  precludes  such  special  habits  as  we  find  in 
the  assemblages  of  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers.  But  when  the  young 
Saitigrades  have  abandoned  the  maternal  cell,  groups  of  them  may  be 
seen   underneath  a  bit   of  bark  occupying  their   own  tiny  cells,  which  lie 


Fig.  259.     A   colony  of  young 


Agalena. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD.  237 


close  to  each  other,  forming  thus  a  miniature  colony.  One  of  these  settle- 
ments I  have  redrawn  from  Mr.  Otto  Herman's  description  of  the  Hun- 
garian spider  fauna.  ^ 

XL 

The  disposition  of  some  young  spiders  to  settle  in  colonies  in  the 
neighborhood   of  their   maternal   origin   may  well   be   seen   in  the  case  of 

the  Medicinal  spider.  For  example,  in  my  church  cellar  several 
p  ,  windows  have  been  left  undisturbed,  by  my  directions,  in  order 

that  the  various  species  inhabiting  them  might  have  free  op- 
portunity to  multiply  and  build  in  a  natural  way.  On  one  window,  which 
is  represented  in  the  accompanying  cut  (Fig.  260),  an  interesting  spectacle 
is  presented  to  the  observer.  The  opening  for  the  window  is  a  deep  one, 
the  wall  being  four  feet  in  thickness.  The  glass  opens  into  an  area  exca- 
vated from  the  embankment  outside,  and  through  which  light  falls,  dimly 
illuminating  the  window  space.  The  whole  place  is  occupied  by  spiders 
of  several  species. 

In  the  forefront  may  be  seen  the  web  of  intersecting  lines  spun  by 
Theridium  serpentinuii?.  The  mother  has  disappeared,  but  her  eight  co- 
coons of  flossy  white  silk  still  (in  midwinter)  hang  in  the  midst  of  the 
maze  of  crossed  lines,  almost  as  spotless  as  when  spun,  appearing  to  have 
little  capacity  to  gather  the  dust  and  muck  of  the  cellar.  Just  beyond, 
and  almost  filling  the  capacious  opening,  the  long  cables  of  Theridium 
tepidariorum  are  stretched.  Here  the  mother  had  her  home,  and  she 
has  left  a  dozen  of  her  pear  shaped,  j^ellowish  brown  egg  bags  within  the 
meshes  of  the  snare.  Beneath  this  a  species  of  Linyphia  has  stretched 
her  sheet  like  w^eb,  and  as  late  as  Christmas  (1889)  was  found  hanging 
beneath  it,  apparently  patiently  waiting  to  pick  up  such  chance  prey  as 
the  late  season  might  bring  her.  Small  snares  of  young  individuals  of 
the  two  species  of  Theridium  above  mentioned  are  woven  at  various  points 
in  the  intervals.  In  a  few  the  proprietors  may  be  seen  hanging  back  down- 
ward ;  from  others  the  spinners  have  disappeared  into  various  crevices  and 
rugosities  of  the  rough  plastered  window. 

Further  on  we  reach  the  glass  window  frames  close  against  the  area. 
In  either   corner,  and  occupying  the  angle  for  a  considerable  distance  on 

either  side,  are  stretched  the  triangular  shaped  webs  of  Tegenaria 
o   . ,  medicinalis.      Some   of  them   are   quite   large.      All  are   covered 

with  cellar  dust  and  soot.  Some  of  them  look  broken  and  aban- 
doned. In  others,  if  one  follows  the  snare  to  the  angle  and  runs  his  fin- 
ger into  the  turret,  he  will  find  still  living  the  sombre  colored  spider  that 
wove  the  web.     These  webs  and  towers  are  or  were  the  snares  and  homes 

^  Wohnungscolonie  von  Epiblemum  scenicum  unter  Riiulen.  Magyarorszitg  Pok-fadja 
(Hungarian  Spider  Fauna),  Vol.  I.,  irta  Herman  Otto,  pi.  iii.,  Fig.  64. 


238 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fio.  260.    A  colony  of  Medicinal  spiders,  old  and  young,  domiciled  in  a  cellar  window. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD.  239 


of  the  adult  species,  both  male  and  female.  Between  these  larger  webs, 
occupying  the  angles  and  spread  along  the  window  frames,  one  sees  many 
smaller  webs.  They  occupy  the  angles  where  the  intersecting  frames  of 
the  sash  cross  one  another.  They  are  built  just  underneath  the  frames. 
They  are  stretched  from  the  top  of  the  frame  to  the  surface  of  the  glass, 
and  some  of  them  are  woven  upon  the  glass  itself.  They  are  small  as 
compared  with  the  webs  of  the  adults,  and  they  are  of  a  bright  bluish  or 
lead  colored  silk,  which  has  not  been  defiled  by  dust. 

I  counted  on  this  window  as  many  as  one  hundred  and  six  of  these 
little  tents,  and  in  the  neighborhood  many  spiderlings  may  be  found.     But 

many  more  have  disappeared.  Whither  have  they  gone  ?  Alas, 
A  Camp  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of  them  have  fallen  victims 
°     ^'        of  that  fratricidal  strife  which  is  sure  to  appear  when  the  young 

of  any  brood  of  spiderlings  have  once  set  up  housekeeping  for 
themselves.  Others,  doubtless,  have  gone  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  their 
own  mothers,  who,  when  once  their  broodlings  have  left  the  maternal  care, 
make  no  distinction  between  their  own  and  another  mother's  offspring,  but 
eat  all  indiscriminately  that  fall  within  their  maws,  while  on  still  others 
alien  species  have  preyed. 

The  window  presents  an  interesting  object  as  it  is  thus  depicted,  and 
the  carefully  made  photograph,  which  has  assisted  the  artist's  study,  accu- 
rately presents  to  the  reader  what  may  be  seen  by  the  student  who  takes 
his  stand  with  the  author  and  looks  into  this  window.  Elsewhere  through- 
out the  cellar  the  same  phenomenon  is  presented.  On  another  window  I 
counted  fifty-three  of  these  youngling  snares, spread  in  like  positions;  but 
the  one  here  figured  is  the  most  interesting  object,  and  presents  the  largest 
exhibit  I  have  seen  of  youthful  spider  industry  intermingled  on  a  natural 
site  with  the  webs  of  adults  and  of  other  species. 

The  Swedish   naturalist  Clerck  saw  many  little  Argyronetas  swimming 

in   the   month   of  July,^   which  indicates  that  they  are   hatched 

^^'^^       about   that   time,   and   appeared    greatly   to   enjoy   themselves   in 

Spiders      sporting  through   the  element  which   forms  the   environment   of 

their  home.  The  instinct  of  swimming  is  as  fully  developed  in 
these  little  ones  at  the  very  outset  of  life  as  in  their  parents. 

According  to  De  Lignac,^  when  the  mothers  of  Argyroneta  aquatica  are 
about   to   oviposit   they  construct  a   new  silken    bell   or   renew  that  which 

they  have   already    made.      The    eggs  are  enclosed   therein,  and 

y^^l^      when  hatched    one   may  see   issuing  from  the  beautiful   balloon, 

cursions.   which    is   shining   white,  a  prodigious  quantity  of  little  bubbles, 

brilliant  as  quicksilver,  which  swim  about  in  different  ways ! 
These  are  the  young  water  spiders.  One  female,  observed  and  reported  by 
this   author   made   her   cocoon   on   the   loth   of  April,   and   on   the   3d    of 

'  Aran.  Svecici,  pages  149,  150.  ^  Op.  cit.,  page  5.S. 


240 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


June  following  the  little  spiderlings  issued  forth.     Their  excursion  was  not 
simply  for  observation.     They  mounted  in  search  of  air.     Many  made  little 

cells  of  their  own  upon  a  water  plant 
which  they  found  in  the  vase;  never- 
theless, they  still  continued  to  go  into 
and  out  of  the  maternal  mansion.  Some 
of  them  threw  themselves  upon  the 
corpse  of  a  dragon  fly  larva,  each  one 
tugging  at  his  own  side  in  such  a  way 
that  they  tore  the  body  as  ferociously  as 
two  dogs  engaged  in  dragging  at  a  piece 
of  flesh. 

On  the  fifteenth  day  they  changed 
their  skin,  and  our  observer  saw  a  large 
number  of  their  moults  floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  water.  After 
the  young  spiders  had  left  the  maternal  cell  it  appeared  transparent;  but 
two  days  after  the  advent  of  the  family  a  part  appeared  to  be  renewed, 
satiny,  and  opaque.  When  the  balloon  was  deserted,  the  male,  w^ho  had 
constructed  a  beautiful  cell  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  sometimes  came 
to  visit  the  old  apartment.  These  spiders  have  a  local  attachment  for  the 
neighborhood  of  their  cells. 


Fig.  261.    Lycosid  mother,  with  her  newly 
hatched  brood  upon  her  back. 


Spider 
lings 
Pick-a 
back. 


XII. 

The  Lycosid  mother  referred  to  (page  143)  presented  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  the  habits  of  her  younglings.  One  month  after  her  co- 
coon had  been  made,  June  4th,  the 
spider  was  found  with  the  young 
hatched  and  massed  upon  her  body, 
from  caput  to  abdomen.  The  empty 
egg  sac  still  clung   to  her  spinnerets, 

and    the    younglings    were    grouped    upon    the  '( 

upper  part  of  the  same.     The  abdomens  of  the 

little   spiders  were  of  a   light  yellow  color,  the 

legs  of  a  greenish  brown  or  slate  color,  and  the 

brood    were   tightly    packed    upon    and    around 

each  other,  the  lower  layers  apparently  holding 

on  to  the   mother's   body   and    the  upper  upon 

those  beneath  it.     Twenty-four  hours  thereafter 

the    cocoon    was    dropped,   and    the   spiderlings 

clung  to  the  mother  alone.     An  examination  of   fig.  262.  The  site  of  a  brood  of  doIo- 

the  cocoon  showed  that  the  young  had  escaped 

from    the    thin    seam    or   joint   formed    by    the 

union  of  the   egg  cover  and    the    circular    cushion   when    the   whole   was 

pulled  up  at  the  circumference  into  globular  shape. 


medes  between  a  boat  landing  and 
the  piles. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD. 


241 


On  June  11th,  one  week  after  the  hatching  of  the  young  Lycosids,  one 
hundred  had  abandoned  the  maternal  perch  and  were  dispersed  over  the 
inner  surface  of  the  jar  and  upon  a  series  of  lines  stretched  from  side  to 
side.  About  half  as  many  more  remained  upon  the  mother's  back,  but 
by  the  13th,  two  days  thereafter,  all  had  dismounted.  In  the  meantime 
they  had  increased  in  size  at  least  half,  apparently  without  food.^ 

One  summer,  at  the  steamboat  landing  of  Lake  Saratoga,  New  York, 
between  the  platform  and  the  logs  driven  as  piles  to  protect  it,  I  observed 
a  large  nest  of  interlacing  lines  within  which  hung  a  round  co- 
Young-  coon  from  half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  Imme- 
medes  diately  beneath  the  cocoon  many  young  spiders  were  massed  in 
colony,  hanging  inverted,  in  the  usual  posture,  from  the  crossed 
lines  of  the  maze.  These  were 
the  little  fellows  who  had  been 
hatched  within  the  swinging 
egg  bag,  and  who  had  doubt- 
less issued  therefrom  within 
the  last  week  or  ten  days.  At 
least,  they  were  so  well  grown 
that  they  might  have  been  of 
that  age. 

The  cocoon  was  so  evi- 
dently of  the  Lycosid  charac- 
ter that  I  was  for  a  moment 
perplexed  to  find  it  in  such 
a  position.  But,  remembering 
the  habit  of  Dolomedes,  I  in- 
ferred that  this  may  have  been 
the  cocoon  nest  of  one  of  the 
large  Dolomede  spiders  that 
frequent  the  borders  of  our 
American  lakes  and  other  wa- 
ters. I  captured  some  of  the 
young  spiders,  with  some  diffi- 
culty however,  for  they  were 
old  and  active  enough  to  scamper  away  upon  the  least  agitation  of  the 
Snare.  An  examination  showed  that  they  were  young  Dolomedes,  proba- 
bly Dolomedes  tenebrosus,  a  spider  that  attains  great  size  under  favor- 
able circumstances.  No  doubt,  the  mother  had  carried  her  cocoon  along 
the  shore,  hiding  among  rocks  or  underneath  the  platform  of  the  boat 
landing,  until  Nature  prompted  her  to  the  last  action  characteristic  of  her 


Fiu.  263.    View  of  Dolomede  cocoon  in  site,  and  part  of  the 
brood  hanging  to  the  supporting  lines. 


^  Proceedings  Acad,  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1884,  page  138,  "How  Lycosa  fabricates  her  round 
cocoon." 


242  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


species.  Thereupon  she  swung  it  within  a  tented  maze  as  described  and 
figured,  and  probably  set  herself  to  watch  in  some  convenient  position. 
She,  however,  had  disappeared  when  the  naturalist  came  upon  the  scene, 
and  may  have  perished  or  returned  to  her  life  occupation  of  capturing 
insects  upon  the  blue  waters  of  Lake  Saratoga.  Fig.  262  shows  the  posi- 
tion of  the  snare  and  cocoon  in  site,  and  Fig.  263  shows  the  snare  enlarged, 
with  the  cocoon  about  natural  size,  and  the  young  clustered  beneath. 

When  one  approaches  the  cocooning  nest  of  Pucetia  aurora  he  usually 

sees  the  mother  hovering  over  her  offspring,  or  starting  a  new^c  of  eggs. 

She  makes  two  and  sometimes  three  cocoons  on  one  twig.     Some- 

°®  ^^     times   the  young  ones  will   still  be  within   an  old  cocoon  while 
aurora.        ,  ,      "^  .  ,     .  i        n        ^  •  t      i        i 

the  mother  is  enclosing  a  new  bundle  or  eggs  immediately  ad- 
joining the  old  one.  The  young  were  not  seen  upon  the  mother's  body 
by  Mr.  Wright,  who  forwarded  the  specimens  to  me  from  California.  The 
mother  stays  close  by  her  cocoon  nest.  If  the  spiderlings  be  hatched  out, 
she  will  perhaps  drop  down  a  foot  or  more.  If  the  first  effort  to  capture 
her  be  not  successful,  she  will  not  drop  to  the  ground  unless  forced  to  do 
so.  If  engaged  in  carrying  her  cocoons,  it  requires  force  to  separate  her 
from  them.     (See  Chapter  V.,  page  147,  and  Fig.  180.) 

The  young  ones  take  alarm  sooner  than  their  mother.  They  drop  down 
a  few  inches  from  their  perch  on  the  maze  of  intersecting  lines  surround- 
ing the  cocoon,  or,  at  times,  as  far  as  two  feet,  each  one  suspended  to  a 
tiny  thread,  forming  thus  a  pretty  swinging  fringe  to  the  overhanging  nest. 
In  a  few  moments,  if  no  further  alarm  be  created,  the  younglings  reas- 
cend  by  their  traplines  to  their  perch,  but,  if  they  be  frightened  again, 
will  drop  entirely  to  the  ground  and  run  into  concealment.  In  such  cases 
the  little  ones  were  not  observed  to  jump,  as  is  the  habit  with  the  mother. 

The  young  of   Lycosids  generally  escape  from   their  cocoons  through 
the  seam  which   extends   around   the   central   part.     It   is   thinner   at   this 
point  and  splits  nearly  around  the  whole  circumference,  so  that 
„  . ,  the  young  come   out   in  a  body.      But  with   the  Turret  spider, 

Lycosa  arenicola,  the  young  cut  a  smooth,  round  hole  in  the 
cocoon  just  large  enough  for  them  to  come  out  one  by  one.  The  first 
three  weeks  the  little  objects  are  piled  all  over  the  head  and  thorax  of  the 
mother,  often  completely  blinding  her.  They  seem  ambitious  to  reach 
the  highest  point,  and  jostle  and  crowd  one  another  in  various  efforts  to 
be  at  the  head  of  the  heap.  The  mother  patiently  endures  this  for  a 
time,  but  when  her  younglings  become  too  thick  over  her  eyes,  she  takes 
her  long  fore  legs,  which  she  uses  as  feelers  or  hands,  reaches  up  and 
scrapes  off  an  armful  and  holds  them  straight  in  front  of  her.  Soon  she 
gently  releases  them,  slowly  opening  her  arms,  and  they  quietly  take  their 
places  around  the  edge  of  the  tower,  where  they  usually  remain  until  the 
mother  goes  below,  when  tliey  all  follow.  Upon  her  reappearance  they  are 
again  stationed  upon  her  back. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD.  243 


The  young  do  not  all  leave  the  mother  at  the  same  time,  but  go  out  in 

detachments,  when  about  three  weeks  old.     When  three  or  four  weeks  old 

the   mother   manifests  a   disposition   to   send   them   adrift.      She 

eavmg     -^  ^^  longer  quiet  and  patient,  but  frequently  picks  up  one  of 

her  babies  and  throws  it  across  the  jar,  yet  seems  to  be  careful 

not  to   injure   it.     She   behaves   much   in   the   same  way  that   the   higher 

animals  do  in  weaning  their  young. 

When  the  spiderlings  leave  the  mother's  back  they  run  up  a  tree  or 
some  neighboring  plant  and  are  lost  to  sight.  Some  linger  with  the  mother 
until  the  cold  weather  begins.  The  mother  clears  the  ragged  webs  and 
moults  from  her  body  and  looks  plump  and  bright.  She  sits  on  the  top 
of  her  tower  with  the  remaining  little  ones  stationed  around  the  edge. 
They  now  seldom  rest  upon  her,  and  when  she  goes  within  her  burrow 
they  all  follow.  Upon  her  reappearance  a  few  spiderlings,  it  was  observed, 
had  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  being  carried  up  upon  her 
back,  but  they  did  not  remain  there. 

One  of  this  brood  was  observed  making  a  small  burrow  in  the  jar  in 
which  it  was  confined.  The  tube  was  less  than  one-fourth  inch  in  diam- 
eter, and  the  spiderling  was  two  days  in  excavating  an  inch  below 
-5  ., ,.  the  surface.  On  the  top  of  this  burrow  it  built  up  a  tiny  tower 
fully  half  an  inch  high,  which  was  made  wholly  of  earth  inter- 
mingled with  web.  In  digging,  the  diminutive  architect  brought  the  little 
pellets  in  its  mandibles,  and  those  which  it  did  not  wish  to  use  in  the 
tower  it  let  fall  by  the  side.  It  did  not  shoot  the  earth  to  a  distance  as 
the  adult  Turret  spider  does,  but  stood  on  the^  top  of  its  tower,  opened  its 
mandibles,  and  let  the  pellet  drop.  At  the  same  time  it  threw  apart  its 
legs  as  if  that  would  help  it  to  dispose  of  the  earth,  a  movement  which 
Mrs.  Treat  speaks  of  as  being  very  baby  like. 

The  actions  of  this  little  Turret  builder  showed  emphatically  that  she  had 
shut  herself  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  family  and  would  not  be  annoyed  by 
them.  Frequently  one  of  her  brothers  or  sisters,  meandering  about,  came 
to  its  little  tower,  and  not  often  would  one  pass  by  without  going  up  and 
looking  in.  This  always  seemed  to  exasperate  the  small  householder.  She 
dropped  her  work,  sprang  from  the  top  of  her  tower,  and  sometimes  chased 
the  fleeing  brother  half  across  the  jar,  then  turned  and  went  back  to  her 
work.  No  such  disposition  was  manifested,  as  far  as  Mrs.  Treat  observed, 
as  long  as  the  younglings  remained  with  the  mother.  During  that  period 
they  crowd  together,  walk  over  each  other,  and  never  have  any  quarrels. 

At  the  end  of  the  sixth  week  after  birth  most  of  the  brood,  if  per- 
mitted, would  abandon  the  maternal  nest  and  build  tubes  and  towers  for 
themselves.  Two  had  erected  their  towers  within  two  inches  of 
p^  one   another,   and   they   sat   on   the   tops   of    their    turrets,   often 

facing  each  other  and  watching  the  tiny  scavenger  beetles  that 
bred  in  the  jar  and  lived  on  the  refuse  insects  thrown  out  by  the  mother. 


244  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

These  beetles  were  food  for  the  young  housekeepers,  but  Mrs.  Treat 
thought  that  they  were  not  to  their  taste  as  much  as  flies,  although  they 
dared  not  as  yet  take  a  living  house  fly,  and  if  one  came  near  them  they 
quickly  dodged  within  their  burrows.  If  a  fly  were  killed  and  laid  on 
the  tower,  however,  they  would  try  to  take  it  within,  but  it  being  impos- 
sible to  do  this  with  the  wings  and  legs  adhering,  they  made  many  in- 
genious but  futile  attempts  to  get  the  large  carcass  inside  the  burrow.  If 
the  wings  and  legs  were  removed  from  the  insect,  and  laid  upon  the  tower, 
the  carcass  was  soon  carried  below  and  after  a  few  hours  was  brought  up 
to  dry  and  thrown  out.^ 

In  November  the  Tiger  spiders  all  hermetically  close  their  doors  and 
keep  them  shut  until  the  following  April,  when  they  again  come  forth, 
the  females  each  with  a  cocoon  of  eggs  attached  to  the  spinner- 
,.^  ?  ets.     The  eggs  hatch  in  May,  and  the  young  spiders  crawl  upon 

the  mother's  back,  literally  covering  her  body.  After  a  few  days 
they  leave  her,  and  all  at  once  come  rushing  out  of  the  burrow.  For  two 
or  three  months  these  young  spiders  flit  about  here  and  there  over  bushes 
and  on  the  lower  branches  of  trees,  seemingly  ambitious  to  get  to  higher 
places. 

Toward  the  end  of  July  their  roving  lives  cease,  and  they  settle  down 
and  dig  little  burrows  in  the  earth,  which  they  do  not  conceal  the  first 
season.  The  wasps  do  not  molest  the  young  ones.  The  following  spring, 
when  a  year  old,  they  are  little  more  than  half  grown,  and  during  the 
summer  they  grow  rapidly  and  moult  several  times,  each  time  changing 
their  appearance.  By  August  they  seem  to  be  nearly  full  grown,  when 
their  enemy,  the  wasp,  makes  havoc  among  them.  By  thus  tracing  the 
life  history  of  this  spider  we  find  it  to  be  two  years  old  before  the  first 
brood  of  young  are  liatched,  and,  if  no  accident  befalls  it,  it  probably  lives 
several  years.  ^ 

XIII. 

Mr.  Frederick  Enock  ^  deternjined  the  manner  in  which  the  young  of 
Atypus  piceus  issue  from  the  parental  nest,  and  their  subsequent  behavior. 

October  loth  he  dug  up  five  tubes,  each  containing  a  male  and 
-  ,      .         female.     The  males  were  removed,  and  the  tubes  containing  the 

impregnated  females  were  reset  in  a  bank  at  the  bottom  of  a 
garden,  and  were  kept  under  daily  riotice  during  the  seasons  following. 
March  28th  of  the  next  year  the  aerial  extensions  of  the  tubes,  which  dur- 
ing the  winter  had  laid  nearly  flat  upon  the  bank,  showed  signs  of  being 
repaired  by  the  inmates.  On  the  next  day  in  the  apex  of  each  of  the 
five  tubes  there  was  observed  a  small  round  hole  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 

1  Mrs.  Mary  Treat,  "  Home  .Studies  in  Nature,"  Harper's  Magazine,  May,  1880. 
^  Idem,  page  712.  ^  Trans.  Ento.  Soc.  Lond.,  1885,  page  395. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND    BABYHOOD.  245 


in  diameter.  Tlie  succeeding  day,  March  30tli,  was  warm,  and  at  ten 
o'clock  morning  a  young  Atypus  was  observed  to  emerge  from  one  of 
these  holes.  It  was  shortly  followed  by  others,  until  ten  had  left  the  home 
of  their  birth  never  more  to  return.  A  few  younglings  also  issued  from 
two  others  of  the  tubes. 

The   first  young  Atypus  that  emerged  walked   a  short  distance  to  the 

foot  of  a  grass  stem,    up    which   it  crawled,    leaving   its  silken   thread   as 

it  went  along.     When   it  liad   climbed   about  an  inch   high   an- 

"  Fol-         other  young  one  came  out,  took  hold  of  the  first  line,  adding  its 

°^ ,    ®„    thread  to  it ;    and  so  on,  each  successive  youngling  following  the 

leader,  which,'  by  the  time  the  tenth  one  emerged,  had  mounted 

up   several   inches.     As  the  leader  climbed   from   stem  to  stem  it  bridged 

over  the  intervening  space  with  the  never  ending  silken  cord,  along  which 

each  successive  spiderling  followed,  strengthening  it  as   they  passed,  until 

it  became  quite  visible,  glistening  in  the  sun. 

The  spiderlings  above  alluded  to  kept  mounting  up  higher  and  higher, 
and  ascended  to  the  top  of  a  number  of  pea  vine  sticks  which  had  been 
planted  in  the  neighborhood,  and  were  about  three  feet  and  a  half  above 
the  ground.  The  first  adventurer,  having  arrived  at  the  top  of  one  of 
these  sticks,  walked  around  and  around  it.  The  others  soon  joined  the 
first,  and  none  seemed  inclined  to  descend  by  the  way  the  party  mounted. 
The  rising  wind  gently  swayed  the  sticks  about,  until  some  of  the  spiders 
were  blown  off  into  midair,  but  still  keeping  hold  upon  their  endless 
silken  cord  until  they  became  attached  to  other  sticks.  These  they  mount- 
ed as  they  did  the  first ;  but  were  again  and  finally  carried  off  by  the 
breeze  at  five  o'clock  afternoon,  and  landed  upon  the  ground,  where  they 
hid  themselves  among  the  grass  and  rubbish,  no  doubt  taking  lodgings 
therein  for  the  night,  during  which  there  was  a  sharp  frost. 

The  next  morning  all  the  small  outlets  of  the  tubes  were  carefully 
spun  up,  and,  judging  by  the  character  of  the  web,  Mr.  Enock  thought 
that  the  mothers  had  closed  the  openings  to  prevent  the  remaining  mem- 
bers of  the  family  leaving  the  parental  nest  until  more  favorable  weather 
would  permit  them  to  do  so  with  safety. 

The  above  behavior  appears  to  represent  accurately  the  ordinary  habit 
of  the  spiderling  Atypus  immediately  after  exode.  That  is  to  say,  it  first 
seeks  a  position  at  the  summit  of  any  neighboring  plants  or 
First  elevated    objects,   from   which   it  is    carried    away   by   the   wind 

_,      ,  upon  an  aeronautic  expedition  of  greater  or  less   extent.      Fall- 

Habits.  ^^S  upon  the  earth,  it  conceals  itself  for  a  little  while,  and  then 
proceeds  to  dig  in  the  sand  or  soil  a  tube  which  is  extremely 
minute,  corresponding  in  size  to  the  spider  digging  it.  As  the  spider- 
ling grows  it  enlarges  its  tube,  or,  removing  from  the  one  in  which  its 
child  life  was  passed,  prepares  another  nest  better  adapted  to  its  mature 
condition. 


246  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


In  these  particulars  the  young  of  Atypus  differ  little,  perhaps,  I  may 
say,  not  at  all,  from  the  habits  of  Lycosids,  after  they  have  left  their 
mother's  back  and  started  housekeeping  for  themselves.  Indeed,  the  re- 
semblance has  a  wider  range  among  the  tribes,  inasmuch  as  Orbweavers, 
Laterigrades,  and  Saltigrades  show  the  same  disposition  to  seek  elevated 
objects  immediately  after  exode,  and  thence  procure  dispersion  by  means 
of  the  wind. 

The  mother  Atypus  may  occasionally  carry  its  young  upon  its  back 
during  residence  within  the  parental  nest,  but  has  not  been  seen  doing 
this  outside  of  its  cave.  This  fact  is  not  strange,  since  it  rarely  leaves 
its  tube  at  all,  but  spends  its  entire  life  within  its  silken  domicile,  which 
is  for  it  alike  home,  snare,  nursery,  and  grave.  According  to  Mr.  Enock, 
maturity  is  not  reached  until  the  Atypus  is  at  least  four  years  old. 

The  young  of  Atypus  piceus  were  seen  by  Mr.  Enock,  September  25th, 
in  the  same  nest  with  the  female,  looking  very  white  and  moving  feebly, 
as  evidently  just  hatched.  He  found  the  young  nested  with  the  mother 
at  various  dates  through  September,  October,  November,  and  again  in 
March  and  April  of  the  year  following.  It  is  thus  established  that  after 
the  young  leave  the  cocoon  in  August  and  September,  they  remain  with 
their  mother  during  the  entire  autumn  and  winter,  and  during  the  early 
spring  until  the  weather  is  mild  enough  to  justify  their  leaving  the  ma- 
ternal home  and  establishing  nests  of  their  own. 

What  they  feed  upon  during  this  period  is  not  known.     Much  of  the 
time,  no  doubt,  they  are  in  a  torpid  condition,  requiring  no  food.     There 
is  not  the  slightest   evidence   that  they  prey  upon  one   another. 
Nurture     j^  jg  possible  that  the  mother  may  provide  food  for  them,  and, 
j^     .  indeed,  this  is  highly  probable.     If   so,  these   troglodyte   spiders 

furnish  a  beautiful  example  of  domesticity ;  and  the  maternal 
care  shown  by  creatures  so  unprepossessing  in  personal  appearance  and 
occupants  of  such  gloomy  homes,  is  not  excelled  by  that  of  any  of  the 
known  lower  animals.  I  might,  perhaps,  truthfully  add  that  the  more 
highly  organized  vertebrates  scarcely  exhibit  a  greater  amount  of  maternal 
tenderness  and  care. 

The  immense  cocoon  of  Mygale,  sometimes  as  large  as  a  lien's  egg,  is 
stocked  with  as  many  as  two  thousand  eggs.  In  Cayenne  the  little  My- 
galidse,  when  issuing  from  the  cocoon,  are  attacked  and  de- 
Young  voured  by  red  ants,  and  are"  too  feeble  to  offer  effectual  resist- 
Taran- 
tulas  ance.     Walckenaer  describes  the  contents  of  a  cocoon  of  Mygale 

avicularia  from  Cayenne,  which  was  infested  by  a  multitude  of 
parasitic  Cynips.  Numbers  of  young  spiders  were  found  therein.  They 
were  about  two  lines  long,  of  uniform  yellowish  white  color,  except  at  the 
eye  space,  which  was  brown.  The  long  spinnerets  showed  at  the  apex 
of  the  abdomen.  The  mandibles  were  prominent  and  curved,  the  eyes 
very  apparent.     All  the  characteristics  of  the  genus  were  well  developed. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD.  247 

The   inner   intermediate    eyes   were  large  and   of    a   reddish   brown.     The 
first  pair  of  legs  were  longer  than  the  fourth  i)air.^ 

It  is  a  suggestive  fact  in  the  natural  history  of  these  immense  repre- 
sentatives of  a  race  so  destructive  to  insect  life  to  find  them  the  victims 
of  such  puny  creatures  as  parasitic  Ichneumon  flies  and  Cynips,  and  to 
see  their  young  devoured  in  multitudes  as  a  delicate  morsel  by  little 
red  ants.  It  is  thus  that  Dame  Nature  knows  how  to  keep  an  equilib- 
rium in  the  thronging  life  of  the  insect  world,  and,  moreover,  to  bring 
it  about  by  what  seems  an  apt  and  admirable  stroke  of  justice  well  in 
accordance  with  "the  eternal  fitness  of  things." 

XIV. 

Mr.  Moggridge  was  fortunate  enough  to  see  the  female  of  Nemesia  me- 
redionalis  constructing  a  trapdoor  in  captivity,  after  having  been  placed  in 
a  flower  pot  full  of  earth,  in  which  a  cylindrical  hole  had  been 
a  mg  a  j^^^jg  ^j^  order  to  forward  the  spider's  operations.  She  quickly 
*  disappeared  into  this  hole,  and  during  the  night  following  made 
a  thin  web  over  the  aperture,  into  which  she  wove  any  materials  that  came 
to  hand.  At  this  stage  the  trapdoor  resembled  a  rudely  constructed  hori- 
zontal orbweb,  attached  by  two  or  three  threads  to  the  earth  at  the  mouth 
of  the  hole.  In  this  web  were  caught  bits  of  earth,  moss,  leaves,  etc., 
which  the  spider  had  thrown  into  it  from  above.  On  the  second  night 
the  door  was  nearly  the  normal  texture  and  thickness,  but  in  no  case  would 
it  open  completely.  Mr.  Moggridge  believed  that  when  a  door  is  fastened, 
the  few  threads  which  serve  as  supports  and  connect  it  with  the  earth  on 
either  side,  are  severed. 

Young  Trapdoor  spiders,  both  of  the  cork  and  wafer  kind,  when  taken 
from  the  nest  of  the  mother,  will  make  their  own  perfect  little  dwelling 
in  captivity,  and  Moggridge  observed  them  construct  tube  and  door  within 
fifteen  hours.  This  may  be  favorably  compared  with  the  work  of  the  adult 
Cteniza  moggridgii,  which  the  same  observer  saw  make  a  perfect  tube  and 
furnish  it  with  a  movable  door  in  a  single  night  when  confined  under 
gauze  or  moist  earth.  ^ 

The  same  author  has  enabled  us  to  decide  that  the  young  Nemesia 
proceeds  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  the  adult  when  it  builds  a  nest. 
While  engaged  at  night  in  sketching,  he  detected  something  mov- 
_°,,^  ing  at  the  mouth  of  a  tiny  hole  just  large  enough  to  admit  a 
quill  pen,  in  a  mass  of  earth  near  where  he  sat.  The  lamplight 
fell  full  upon  it,  and  he  soon  saw  that  the  moving  object  was  a  very  small 
spider,  which  was  at  work  in  the  mouth  of  its  tube.  The  opening  of  the 
tube  was  completely  uncovered,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  little 
aranead  was  intent  upon  remedying  this  deficiency.     After  a  few  threads 

^  Walckenaer,  Apteres,  Vol.  I.,  pages  218,  219.       ^  Trapdoor  Spiders,  Supplement,  page  243. 


248  AMERICAN    SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 

had  been  spun  from  side  to  side  of  the  tube,  he  watclied  the  spider 
making  one  or  two  hasty  sorties,  apparently  spinning  all  the  while;  and 
finally  saw  her  gather  up  an  armful,  as  it  were,  of  earth  and  lay  this  on 
the  web. 

After  this  the  occupant  of  the  tube  was  concealed,  but  the  observer 
could  see  from  the  movement  of  the  particles  of  earth  that  they  were  be- 
ing consolidated,  and  that  the  weaving  of  the  under  surface  of  the  door 
was  being  completed.  Next  morning  he  could  lift  up  the  door,  which 
had  the  form  of  a  small  cup  of  silk,  in  which  the  earth  lay.  It  was  then 
soft  and  pliant,  but  in  ten  days'  time  it  had  hardened  and  become  a  very 
fair  specimen  of  a  minute  door  of  the  "cork"  type.^ 

He  had  watched  the  proceedings  of  young  spiders  when  taken  from 
the  mother's  nest  in  the  following  species :  Nemesia  manderstjernae,  Nemesia 
eleanora,  Nemesia  congener,  and  Nemesia  moggridgii,  the  first  three  con- 
structing wafer  doors  and  the  last  a  thick  beveled  or  cork  door  nest.  All 
of  these  very  young  spiders  will  excavate  their  own  tubes  and  bring  out 
pellets  of  earth,  which  closely  resemble  those  carried  out  from  their  galler- 
ies by  ants. 

The  young  brood  while  still  in  the  mother's  nest  will  often  comprise 
individuals  of  different  sizes,  and,  though  a  majority  are  no  larger  than 
one-fourth  of  an  inch  long,  some  may  occasionally  be  found  that  are  fully 
twice  as  large.  The  little  nests  which  they  make  in  captivity  vary  accord- 
ingly in  size.  A  large  number  made  in  captivity  varied  in  size  from  two 
lines  (one-sixth  inch)  to  three  lines  (one-fourth  inch)  in  width. 

These  little  spiders  need  to  be  kept  constantly  supplied  with  flies, 
which  should  be  killed  and  placed  near  their  nests.  They  are  often  so 
greedy  that  they  will  try  to  drag  a  house  fly  into  their  tubes,  for  which 
it  is  much  too  large,  and  when  the  door  is  pushed  open  the  fly  remains 
sticking  in  the  entrance  of  the  nest,  with  its  legs  up  in  the  air.  One  may 
often  feed  these  by  approaching  carefully  without  causing  any  vibra- 
tion, pushing  the  fly,  placed  on  the  end  of  a  pencil,  within  reach  of  the 
spider.  ^ 

Mr.  Moggridge  entertains  the  opinion  that,  as  a  rule,  the  mature  trap- 
door nest  with  its  hinged  lid  is  the  result  of  many  successive  enlarge- 
ments, beginning  with  the  diminutive  tube  of  the  baby  spider, 
,  which   is   no  bigger  than  a  crow  quill.     This  infantile  home  is 

ment.  ^^^  abandoned,  but  is  enlarged  from  time  to  time  according  to 
the  growth  of  the  inhabitant,  and  becomes  the  abode  of  the 
full  grown  spider. 

Of  course,  this  must  require  a  series  of  months,  and  possibly  of  years, 
for  its  accomplishment,  and  it  is  not  unlikely,  judging  from  what  we  know 
of  the  prolonged  life  of  some  of  the  Territelariee   of  other  families   (for 

^  Moggridge,  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  119.  ^  Trapdoor  Spiders,  Supplement,  245. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD. 


249 


example,  that  of  Atypus  piceus,  as  shown  by  Mr.  F.  Enock,  and  that  of  Eury- 
pehna  lientzii,  as  I  have  demonstrated  by  several  species),  that  the  Trap- 
door spiders  may  live  for  several  years  at  least.  Mr.  Moggridge  was 
inclined  to  think,  judging  from  the^  character  of  the  nest  and  its  sur- 
roundings, that  some  which  he  saw  had  been  occupied  more  than  a  year. 
Evidence  of  enlargement  of  the  door  is  not  rare  to  meet  with,  though,  as 
a  rule,  the  new  piece  is  woven  on  to  the  old  with  such  neatness  as  more 
or  less  to  obscure  these.  Examples  were  found  in  which  the  old  and 
smaller  door  of  Nemesia  meredionalis  was  partially  attached  to  the  large 
new  door  which  had  been  constructed  below  it. 

This  view  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  a  cork  trapdoor  may  be  readily 
separated  into  a  number  of  layers  of  silk,  with  more  or  less  of  earth  be- 
tween  every   one.      These   layers   decrease   in   size   from   without 
inwards,  and  together  form  a  sort  of  saucer  in  which  the  small 
central   mass   of    earth 


Fig.  264.    Successive  layers  in  formation  of  a  trapdoor. 
(After  Moggrridge.) 


First  and 

Last 

Doors. 

lies.     (See   Fig.   264.)  i 

By  moistening  a  series  of  the 
cork  trapdoors  of  Nemesia  ce- 
mentaria,  Moggridge  was  able  to 
detach,  in  one  of  medium  size, 
from  six  to  fourteen  circular 
patches  of  silk,  of  which  the 
outermost,  or  that  which  forms 
the  lower  surface  of  the  door, 
was  the  largest,  and  the  inner- 
most the  smallest,  thus  being  in- 
termediate in  size  as  in  position.  The  last  and  smallest  appears  to  be  the 
first  door  the  spider  ever  made,  and  the  consecutive  layers  mark  successive 
stages  in  the  enlargement  of  the  nest.  Baron  Walckenaer  found  more  than 
thirty  alternate  layers  of  silk  and  earth  in  the  nest  of  Cteniza  fodiens.^ 

Moggridge  was  confirmed  in  his  opinion  that  these  layers  mark  a  suc- 
cessive enlargement  of  the  nest,  by  the  additional  fact  that  in  very  small 
doors  they  are  few  or  single,  and  a  proportion  is  observable  between  the 
size  of  the  door  and  the  number  of  layers  of  which  it  is  composed.^ 

In  order  to  test  whether  the  doors  were  enlarged  or  not,  Moggridge 
measured  the  surface  doors  of  seven  double  door  nests,  and  one  minute 
cork  door,  on  April  30th.  On  the  8th  of  October  following  he  measured 
all  these  nests  once  more  and  found  that  they  all  were  enlarged,  the  aver- 
age rate  of  increase  being  one  and  seven-tenths  lines  in  the  five  and  one- 
half  months  which  had  elapsed.  The  highest  increase  of  the  eight  was 
from  five  lines  across  to  seven  and  one-half  lines  across.     In  none  of  the 


^  After  Moggridge,  pi.  xiv.,  and  page  193.  ^  Apt.,  Vol.  I.,  page  228. 

^  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  125,  and  table  from  twenty-eight  specimens  examined,  page  150. 


250 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


series  had  the  increase  been  less  than  one  line  in  width,  which  was  equal 
to  an  increase  of  one-fourth  the  original  width  of  the  door. 

We  can  scarcely  venture  from  such  limited  premises  to  draw  any  precise 
conclusions.  But  if  we  suppose  that  during  the  entire  course  the  nests 
increased  on  an  average  by  about  four  lines  in  diameter,  and  assume  that 
the  rate  of  growth  continues  the  same,  the  nest  of  the  infant  spider,  whose 
surface  door  measures  scarcely  a  line  across,  would  still  require  four  years 
to  attain  the  dimensions  of  some  of  the  largest  double  doors,  whose  surface 
doors  measure  ten  lines  across.  ^ 

In  the  nests  of  several  females  of  Cteniza  ariana  Walck.,  on  the  island 
of  Niros,  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago,  Mr.  Erber  found  eggs  at  the  bottom 
of  the  tube  attached  by  separate  threads,  and  not  placed  in 
cocoons.  The  young  spiders  when  hatched  were  turned  out  from 
the  asylum  of  their  mother's  nest,  and  these  creatures  were 
found,  scarcely  two  lines  long,  already  established  in  nests  three 
inches  deep  and  furnished  with  perfect  trapdoors,  specimens  of 
which  were  collected. ^ 

Costa  states  that  the  young  of  Nemesia  meredionalis,  observed  by  him  in 
the  neighborhood   of   Naples,  remain  in  the  bottom   of  the  maternal  tube, 
art  The  mother  herself  stands 


Grecian 
and 
Italian 
Species, 


Fig.  265.    The  trapdoor  and  burrow  of  a  young  Nemesia 
meredionalis.  Natural  size.    (After  Moggridge.) 


at  the  door,  holding  the 
lid  raised  by  means  of  the 
four  anterior  feet  and  the 
palpi,  the  curved  extremi- 
ties of  which  she  inserts 
between  the  rim  of  the 
tube  and  the  door.  Some- 
times the  limbs  do  not  ap- 
pear, but  the  spider  leaves 
only  a  chink  for  observa- 
tion. He  also  observed 
the  fact  that  the  young  spiders  make  perfect  little  tubes  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  maternal  nest.^ 

XV. 

Most  persons  who  consider  the  above  facts  will  cordially  join  with  Mr. 

Moggridge  in  thinking  that   these  very  small  trapdoor   nests,  built  as  they 

are  by  minute  spiders  probably  not  very  long  hatched  from  the 

Marvels     eggs,  must    rank   among  the   most   marvelous   structures    of   the 

sti  ct         kind  with  which  we  are  acquainted.     That  so  young  and  weak  a 

creature   should   be   able  to   excavate   a  tube  in  the  earth  many 

^  Moggridge,  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  127. 

^  Verhand.  der  k.  k.  Zoologish-botanischer  Verein  in  Wien,  Vol.  XVIII.  (1868),  page  905. 

*  Costa,  Fauna  del  Regno  di  Napoli,  Aracnidi  (1861),  page  14,  tab.  i.,  Figs.  1-4. 


COCOON   LIFE    AND    BABYHOOD. 


251 


times  its  own  length,  and  know  how  to  make  a  perfect  miniature  of  the 
nests  of  its  parents,  seems  to  be  a  fact  which  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in 
Nature.     (See  Fig.  265.) 

When  we  remember  how  difficult  a  thing  it  is  for  even  a  trained 
draughtsman  to  reduce  by  eye  a  complicated  drawing  or  model  to  a  greatly 
diminished  scale,  we  must  own  that 
the  performance  of  this  feat  by  a  baby 
spider  is  so  surprising  as  almost  to 
exceed  belief.  And  yet  even  the  most 
complicated  form  of  trapdoor  nest, 
namely,  that  of  the  branched  double 
door  type,  is  perfectly  reproduced  in 
miniature  by  these  tiny  architects, 
with  the  upper  door,  the  lower  door, 
the  main  tube,  and  the  branched 
body  accurately  placed.^ 

Mr.  A.  R.  Wallace  shows  that  there 
is  some  reason  to  doubt  whether  birds, 
which  are  so  frequently  said  to  build 
by  instinct,  would  construct  the  nest 
proper  to  their  kind  if  they  were  sep- 
arated from  the  mother  at  the  earliest 
age  and  reared  apart  from  her  or  oth- 
ers of  her  kind.  He  states  that  birds 
brought  up  from  the  egg  in  cages  do 
not  build  the  proper  specific  nest;  nor 
do  they  even  sing  their  parent's  song 
without  being  taught.  ^  Whatever  may 
be  the  case  with  birds  or  other  highly 
organized  animals,  there  is  not  the 
slightest  reason  to  doubt  that,  with 
spiders,  all  forms  of  nests  are  built 
in  the  most  perfect  condition  by  the 
young  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  do 
any  work  at  all  after  being  hatched 
from  the  eggs.  There  is  no  fact  which 
I  have  more  frequently  observed  and  ^^«- ^-  The  spimiingwork  commons  of  a  brood  of 

^  "^  young  Agalenas,  made  in  confinement. 

demonstrated  than  that  all  the  inter- 
esting habits  of  spiders,  including  those  which  would  appear  to  require  the 
greatest  reasoning   powers,  or  the  exercise   of   faculties   that   in  highly  or- 
ganized  animals   would    imply  the    possession    of    experience  and  cunning 


^  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  127.    See  Fig.  b,  plate  ix.,  page  98. 
*  Contributions  to  the  Theory  of  Natural  Selection. 


252  AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 


skill,  are  exorcised  in  their  utmost  plenitude  by  baby  spiders  fresh  from 
their  cocoons.  A  few  additional  illustrations  may  be  here  grouped  to- 
gether, although  many  examples  are  scattered  throughout  these  pages. 

A  brood  of  Agalcna  na3via  hatched  within  a  fruit  jar,  showed  in  a  rather 

curious  way  the  tendency  of  young   spiders   to  imitate   the   parental   snare. 

A  loaf  or  two  and  several  dry  twigs  had  been  placed  within  the 

oung-       IjqiQq  .^ii([  these  formed  points  of  su])port  for  the  delicate,  sheeted 
Agalenas.      .      :  i        ,  •  i      i  a      i  i   i 

spmnnigwork  winch  tlie  young  Agalenas  were  not  long   in  spni- 

ning.  Soon  a  hollow  cylinder  of  silk  was  woven  inside  the  jar,  quite  near 
the  glass.  Now,  the  habit  of  this  spider  in  natural  site  is  to  pierce  her 
sheeted  snare  witli  a  circular  opening,  to  which  is  attached  a  funnel  like 
tube  leading  downwards  into  the  grass.  The  limitations  of  our  imprisoned 
spiderlings  would  not  permit  them  to  form  such  a  structure ;  but,  yielding 
to  the  tendency  of  inherent  instinct,  they  })eiietrated  the  sheeted  cylinder 
with  circular  lioles,  which,  curiously,  were  placed  in  little  groups  at  various 
points.  (See  Fig.  266.)  Through  these  openings  the  spiderlings  came  and 
went,  and,  although  they  were  continually  adding  to  the  texture  of  the 
sheeted  common  by  the  draglines  which  they  carried  after 
them,  I  never  observed  that  the  circular  holes  were  closed. 

When  these  little  Agalenas  make  their  exode  in  natural 
site,  and  have  the  opportunity  to  pursue  unobstructed  their 
natural  tendency,  they  spin  a  little  miniature  of  the  maternal 
snare,  except  that,  as  a  rule,  the  funnel  like  tube  is  not  quite 
as  distinctly  marked,  and  does  not  form  so  prominent  a  part 
Fig.  267.  A  young  of  the  web.  At  the  period  when  the  Agalena  broodlings  are 
Agaiena  naevia.  igg^i^g  from  their  cocoous  they  may  be  seen  dispersed  over 
all  manner  of  surrounding  surfaces,  upon  which  they  have  spun  their 
peculiar  snares.  They  hang  them  between  blades  of  grass,  stretch  them 
across  the  surfaces  of  leaves,  weave  them  within  the  angles  of  houses  and 
walls,  in  all  kinds  of  crannies  and  corners,  upon  rocks,  and  boards,  and 
logs,  and  bits  of  dry  wood ;  and  I  have  often  observed  them  by  scores 
and  hundreds  spun  during  an  evening  over  the  broken  clods  of  d,  recently 
spaded  garden  patch,  or  along  the  furrows  of  a  plowed  field.  These  tiny 
sheeted  nests,  when  seen  of  an  autumn  morning  covered  with  the  beaded 
drops  of  dew  and  glistening  in  the  early  sunlight,  present  a  remarkably 
beautiful  appearance.  A  sketch  of  one  of  these  dew  covered  nests  is  given 
at  Fig.  268. 

M.  Lucas  observed  on  the  part  of  certain  young  Trapdoor  spiders, 
Cteniza  moggridgii,  a  behavior  somewhat  resembling  that  of  these  young 
Agalenas,  but  displaying  even  more  decidedly  the  specific  industrial  char- 
acteristics. Mr.  Moggridge  sent  some  of  the  Ctenizas  by  mail  to  M.  Lucas, 
at  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  in  Paris,  enclosed  in  little,  wide  mouthed,  cylin- 
drical glass  bottles.  The  young  Trapdoors,  in  transitu  or  shortly  there- 
after, lined  the  bottles  with  silk  and  then  proceeded  to  close  them  at  the 


COCOON    LTFE    AND    BABYHOOD. 


253 


Fio.  268.    Dew  covered  web  of  a  young  Speckled  Agalena. 


254  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

mouth  with  a  door  fitting  accurately  into  a  beveled  lip.  In  the  manufac- 
ture of  these  doors  fragments  of  moss,  the  only  material  at  the  spiderling's 
disposal,  were  used  in  place  of  earth. ^ 

The  behavior  of  two  of  the  brood  of  Epeira  sclopetaria  referred  to  (Vol. 

I.,  page  150),  was  notable  as  showing  in  its  plenitude  the  presence  of  the 

strongest  instincts  immediately  after  egress.     A  small  insect,  while 

oung       hovering  around  the  lamp,  was  snared  in  the  straggling  lines.     A 

spiderling   near    by  instantly  ran  to   it,  threw  out  from  its   wee 

spinnerets  jets  of  filaments,  and  completely  enswathed  the  creature  precisely 

in  the  manner  of  an  adult. 

Another  of  the  brood  began  in  a  few  minutes  after  its  coming  to  make 
an  orbweb.     The  foundations  were  attached  to  the  end  of  one  of  the  lines 
hanging  to  the  lamp  globe  by  dropping  a  thread  to  the  table,  a  distance  of 
eighteen  inches ;   then   a  triangular  frame  was  formed   by  uniting   a  point 
of  this  thread  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  upper  line ;  within  this  frame  a 
>,jj^^        perfect  orb   was   spun,      (See  Fig.  141,   page   151,  Vol.   I.)     I 
^      observed  the  w^hole   process,  laying  in   the  radii,  spinning  the 
notched  zone,  the  foundation  spirals,  the  beaded  spirals ;  all  was 
complete,  and  an  exact  likeness  of  a  perfect  adult  web.    Neither 
of  these   young  spiders   could   have  been  more  than   half  an 
hour   out  of  the   natal   tent;    nor  had  they  any  previous  ex- 
perience, having   been  excluded   from   all   spinningwork  what- 
Epeira  swin&^     socvcr ;    uor  had  they  taken  food  of  any  sort.     There  was  no 
ing  in  a  foot     cannibalism    within    cocoon   or  tent   before   the   egress   of  the 
brood,  as  not  a   single   dead   individual   remained ;   every   egg 
had   hatched   a  perfect   spider,   and   all  the  brood   were  gone,  except  three 
living  ones,  who   remained  within  the  tent   until   the   next   day.     Nothing 
could  more  fully  demonstrate  the  facts   that  the   perfect   exercise 
Cnarac-     q£  ^j^g  function  of  spinning,  and  the  full  possession  of  the  char- 
j,  ,  ..         acteristic   habit  of   capturing  prey,   are   innate   with   the   spider- 
Innate.       liiig»  ^iid   dependent   upon   and    influenced    by   nothing    external 
whatsoever.     These   facts,  indeed,  I   have   often   demonstrated   in 
the  various  families  and  species  by  experiments  quite  as   conclusive  as  the 
above. 

A  curious  deviation  from  the  harmony  which  prevailed  throughout  this 
Epeira  brood  was  shown  by  the  spider  which  made  the  above  mentioned 
web  and  another  who  chanced  to  straggle  upon  it.  The  intruder  passed 
along  a  radius  toward  the  hub  where  the  Orbweaver  hung  awaiting  prey. 
The  latter  immediately  turned  and  seized  the  radius  with  her  feet,  her 
little  frame  meanwhile  showing  in  every  part  the  vigor  and  expectancy  of 
her  kind  when  a  victim  strikes  the  web. 

A  series  of  pulls  and  counter  pulls  ensued ;  then  the  two  araneads  ap- 

^  M.  H.  Lucas,  Bull,  des  Seances  de  la  Soc.  Entom.  de  France,  No.  27,  page  107,  1874. 


COCOON   LIFE   AND   BABYHOOD.  255 


proached.     There  was  a  sharp  contact,  a  momentary  whirl  of  confused  legs, 
a  retreat  by  the  maker  of  the  orb,  who  dropped  from  her  snare   quite  to 

the  table,  where  she  lay  in  the  characteristic  mimicry  of  death. 
Feignmg  This  behavior — conscious  feigning  or  unconscious  paralysis,  as  the 
J.       .  case  may  be — is  shown  by  the  youngest  spiders  when  they  are 

touched  upon  their  webs,  or  handled  when  off  them.  Like  the 
aeronautic  habit,  swinging  by  dropthread  and  foot  basket  (Fig.  268),  snare 
weaving,  and  enswathing  the  prey,  it  also  springs  into  being  as  a  per- 
fectly developed  instinct. 

The  intruder  upon  the  snare  followed  the  owner  a  little  way  towards 
the  confines  of  her  abandoned  domain,  then  returned  to  the  hub,  and  de- 
liberately settled  herself  in  the  natural  attitude,  as  much  at  home  as  though 
she  had  herself  spun  the  orb.  The  little  exile  meanwhile  recovered  from 
her  paralysis  and  climbed  over  to  the  standard  of  the  lamp,  where  I  left 
her.  The  actions  of  these  two  spiders  showed  the  most  determined  hostility, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that,  had  either  gained  the  mastery,  the  other  would 
have  been  fed  upon.  On  the  contrary,  those  of  the  brood  hanging  upon 
the  commons  swung  cheek  by  jowl  without  the  slightest  demonstration  of 
a  cannibal  propensity.  I  believe  that  the  ordinary  brood  fraternity  is 
broken  with  the  spinning  of  the  first  snare,  at  whose  construction  the 
natural  solitary  and  ferocious  character  of  the  creature,  and  all  its  wonder- 
ful instincts,  heretofore  dominant,  are  vivified  and  spring  into  active  exer- 
cise. Possibly  the  little  chappies  are  as  much  surprised  as  their  human 
observer  to  find  themselves  possessed  of  such  strange  powers. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  AERONAUTIC   OR  BALLOONING  HABIT. 

Many  accounts  have  been  published,  more  or  less  valuable,  of  what 
are  popularly  known  as  "flying  spiders."    As  the  natural  habits  of  familiar 

animals  have  come  to  be  better  understood,  this  popular  phrase 
"  PI  vine"  •  • 

.  "^  ,i  has  yielded  to  the  more  accurate  one,  "  ballooning  spiders."  How- 
ever called,  the  habit  referred  to  has  been  and  remains  interest- 
ing and  attractive  to  the  ordinary  scientific  observer.  The  fact  that  an 
animal  which  has  none  of  the  natural  provisions  for  progress  through 
the  air  granted  to  winged  creatures,  should,  nevertheless,  be  able  to  over- 
come gravity,  mount  into  the  atmosphere,  and  accomplish  aerial  jour- 
neys, sometimes  of  immense  distances,  is  certainly  well  suited  to  capti- 
vate the  imagination,  awaken  curiosity,  and  stimulate  research.  This 
interest  is  quickened  by  the  fact  that  the  mode  by  which  th6  spider 
aeronaut  reaches  these  results  bears  a  marked  likeness  to  the  artificial 
means  by  which  man  has  himself  solved  the  problem  of  aerial  naviga- 
tion. The  thought  that  the  invention  of  Mongolfier's  mind  possesses  this 
striking  analogue  in  the  natural  history  of  an  inferior  creature,  strikes 
into  a  profounder  depth  than  curious  wonderment,  and  touches  the  prob- 
lem   of   a   Supreme    Mind   over    Nature. 

I. 

I  have  studied  the  aeronautic  habit  of  spiders  from  representatives  of~^ 
the  Orbvveavers,  Tubeweavers,  Citigrades,  Laterigrades,  and  Saltigrades, 
and  have  not  been  able  to  note  any  difference  in  the  mode  of  flight  as 
practiced  by  all.  It  is  probable  that  the  young  of  most  spiders,  and  manyj 
of  the  small  species  of  all  the  great  groups,  are  more  or  less  addicted  to 
such  mode  of  motion.  Certainly  the  habit  is  very  strongly  fixed  in  Orb- 
weavers.  Epeiroid  spiderlings  just  out  of  the  cocoon  lift  themselves  into 
the  air  and  sail  away,  precisely  in  the  manner  hereafter  described.  \  In- 
deed, the  infant  aranead,  when  separated  from  its  fellows  and  exposed 
to  a  strong  pufP  of  air,  seems  instinctively  to  throw  out  its  spinnerets  and 
send  forth  jets  of  silken  filament,  nust  as  a  human  baby  sets  in  motion 
its  feet  and  hands.  ^ 

As  the  jets  almost  instantly  acquire  sufficient  buoyancy  to  counter- 
balance the  spider's  weight,  the  creature  becomes  an  aeronaut,  nolens 
volens,   and   one  can   see  how   readily   the  deliberate    habit  of  ballooning 

(256) 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT.  257 

could  have  been  formed  and  fixed  by  heredity.  The  largest  Orbweaver 
that  I  ever  saw  taking  flight  was  a  partly  grown  Domicile  spider  about 
the  size  of  a  marrowfat  pea,  say  one-fourth  inch  long.  After  having 
floated  over  a  field  and  above  a  hedge  row,  it  crossed  a  road  and  anchored 
upon  the  top  of  a  young  tree.  It  never  attained  a  height  of  over  twenty 
feet,  but  moved  quite  as  fast  as  I  could  run. 

Young    and    small    spiders    fly    rapidly,    their    motion    depending,    of 
course,    upon   the    state    of    the    breeze,    although   they   do   not   appear  to 
undertake  their  aerial  voyage  when  the  wind   is   strong.     How- 
fFl'  M    ^^^^'   6ven   when   the   air   seems   quite  still   to  the   observer,  the 
little  aeronauts  find  a  sufiicient  current  in  the  height  to  which 
they  immediately  ascend  to  bear  them  along  with  a  good  degree  of  speed. 
Indeed,    I    have   been   surprised    at   the   velocity   of  their   progress   in   the 
midst  of  what  might  be  called  a  dead  calm. 
r"  Spider  ballooning  is  not  limited  to  a   special   period   of  the   year,  but 

may  be  practiced  at  any  time.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  seasons 
when  it  most  prevails  are  the  spring  or  early  summer,  and  the 
Seasons  autumn  after  the  young  have  been  hatched.  The  fall  of  the 
diti  s  y^ar  is  more  especially  the  season  for  "  flying  spiders,"  and  Oc- 
tober the  month  most  favored^  But  in  early  November  also  the 
balloonists  are  abroad,  particularly  during  the  Indian  summer,  or  when 
a  series  of  cool  days  is  succeeded  by  a  warm  day. 

11. 

The  following  studies  ^  were  made  during  October,  in  fields  adjacent 
to  Philadelphia  and  in  the  adjoining  Delaware  County.  The  days  were 
warm  and  bright,  with  a  soft  wind  from  the  west,  or  a  gentle  breeze 
blowing,  but  not  steadily  from  any  quarter.  Stooping  low  and  glancing 
along  the  meadow,  the  eye  caught  the  sheen  of  myriads  of  fine  silken 
filaments  glistening  in  the  sunlight.  The  tops  of  grass  spires  and  the 
bushy  heads  of  tall  weeds  were  netted  together  by  innumerable  threads, 
and  from  many  points  of  the  same  filaments  were  streaming  out  at 
.  various  lengths  into  the  air.  Numerous  small  spiders,  chiefly  Orbweavers, 
especially  the  young  of  Tetragnatha  extensa,  were  rising  from  these  plants 
and  sailing  over  the  field. 

The  finest  exhibition  of  the  aeronautic  flight  was  seen  along  a  post 
and  rail  fence  which  divided  the  meadow,  and  the  description  of  this  may 
be  considered  as  covering  the  like  behavior  among  all  balloon- 
Eleva-  jg^g  scattered  over  the  fields.  The  tops  of  the  fence  posts  were 
"pv'^hf^^  the  favorite  ascension  points,  and  upon  these  clusters  of  young 
Lycosids  were  gathered,  sometimes  eight  or  ten  in  a  group.  The 
purpose  in  choosing  these  elevated  spots  is  quite  apparent,  the  currents  of 

'  Proceedings  Academy  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  1877,  page  308,  sq. 


258 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


air  being  stronger  there  than  close  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  conse- 
quently affording  much  better  facility  for  flight.  \The  presence  of  a  delib- 
erate and  wise  volition  seems  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  Lycosids  are 
ground  spiders,  and  not  found  habitually  in  such  positions  as  the  above. 
They  had  certainly  mounted  to  the  top  of  the  fence  with  the  settled  pur- 
pose of  taking  advantage  of  the  stronger  breeze  and  better  "  send  off " 
which  the  superior  height  afforded._^' 

At  least,    it   was   easily   determined   that   such   an   advantage  did  ensue 

from  elevation.  I  selected  some  of  the 
lower  stalks  of  grass  from  which  silken 
streamers  were  fluttering  quite  lazily. 
Close  up  to  the  stalk  or  blade  I  saw  the 
spider  placed  back  downward  clasping 
the  thread  with  its  claws.  Sometimes  a 
thickened  conical  or  flattened  piece  of 
silk  marked  this  end  of  the  line.  When 
these  grass  stalks  were  broken  off  and 
lifted  into  the  air  the  streamers  fluttered 
out  briskly  and  were  soon  snapped  off, 
carrying  the  young  araneads  away  with 
them.  These  experiments  showed  that 
the  act  of  ascension  is  aided  by  eleva- 
tion, both  in  these  cases  and  in  those 
where  the  spider  mounts  directly  from 
the  perch. 

The   young   Lycosids   had    generally 
chosen  the   very  tops  of   fence  posts  as 
points    of    ascent,    and    fortunately    this 
site  suited  the  observer's  convenience  as 
much  as  the  spider's,  and  I  could  there- 
fore notice   with    comparative  .ease    the 
methods  of  the  miniature  balloonists. 
The  spider's  first  action  was  to  turn  its  face  in  the  direction  from  which 
the  wind   was  blowing.     Then  the  abdomen  was  elevated   to   an  angle  of 
about  forty-five   degrees,    and   at   the    same   time   the   eight   legs 
Posture     were  stiffened,  thus  pushing  the  body  upward.     In  order  to  per- 
Fliffht        ^^^*  ^^^^  movement  the  claws  were  brought  in  somewhat,  but  not 
beneath  the  body,  so  that  when  the  legs  were  stiffened  the  body 
stood   high   above   the   surface^   From   the   spinnerets   at  the   apex   of   the 
abdomen  a  single  thread  or  ray  of  threads  was  exuded,  and  rapidly  drawn 
out  by   the   breeze   until,   by   reason   of   its   delicacy,  it   was   lost   to  sight. 
Four,  five,  even  six  or  more  feet  of  thef  lines  would  at  times  be  in  view. 
Gradually   the   legs  were   inclined   in  the  direction  of   the  breeze,  and  the 
joints   straightened   out.     The   foremost   pair   of    legs    sank    almost  to   the 


Fig.  270.     Attitude  of  aeronautic  spider  just 
before  taking  flight. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT.  259 


level  of  the  post;  and  these  especially,  but  indeed  all  the  legs  and  the 
entire  attitude  of  the  creature,  presented  the  appearance  of  an  animal 
resisting  with  utmost  force  and  tension  of  muscles  the  effort  of  some  su- 
perior power  to  snatch  it  away. 

Suddenly  and  simultaneously  the  eight  claws  were  unloosened,  and  the 
spider  mounted  with  a  sharp  bound  into  the  air,  and  went  careering  away 

across  the  meadow,  at  a  rate  more  or  less  rapid  according  to  the 

velocity  of  the  wind.  The  utmost  care  was  used  to  determine 
whether  in  this  upward  bound  the  volition  of  the  spider  had  any  further 
agency  than  the  simple  unclasping  of  the  feet  from  the  post.  Owing  to 
the  extreme  difficulty  of  such  an  observation,  I  cannot  speak  with  absolute 
confidence,  but  was  able  to  satisfy  my  own  mind  that  the  aeronauts  always 
vaulted  upward  and  clear  of  the  post  at  the  moment  of  releasing  their 
hold.  I  can  hardly  be  mistaken  in  the  belief  that  this  was  so  in  many 
cases,  at  least. 

A  similar  action  was  frequently  observed   during   the   preliminary  and 
tentative  movements  in  which  the  spiderlings  indulged  prior  to  the  final 

flight.  Something  was  noticed  among  them  not  unlike  the  frol- 
Frolic-  icsome  pranks  of  kittens  or  lambs.  One  would  rush  up  to  an- 
„   . ,  other,  who  thereupon  would   immediately  change  position,  either 

lings  ^y  running  or  quickly  vaulting  to  another  part  of  the  post.     At 

times  a  leap  would  be  made  quite  away  from  the  post,  but  the 
buoyancy  of  the  thread  which  had  been  exuded  being  insufficient  to  over- 
come the  weight  of  the  animal,  instead  of  rising  into  the  air,  the  creature 
returned  to  the  post  or  struck  upon  the  adjoining  rail.  In  these  and  sim- 
ilar movements  I  was  able  to  detect  distinctly  the  vaulting  action  of  the 
spider,  and  the  eye,  being  thus  familiarized  with  the  movement,  was  less 
liable  to  be  deceived  in  the  more  difficult  observation  of  the  quick  spring 
at  the  time  of  the  aerial  flight. 

The   posts   and   parts   of   railings   adjoining   were   covered   with   threads 
adhering   to   the   wood   and   streaming   out    into   the  air.     These   were  the 

result  in  part  of  the  feints  at  flight  just  referred  to,  but  were 
-^^^^^^'^  partly  owing  to   another   cause.     The  spiders,  previous   to   flight 

or  vaulting,  attached  themselves  to  the  post  in  the  manner  com- 
mon to  most  of  their  order.  The  apex  of  the  abdomen  was  thrust  down 
upon  the  surface,  and  the  liquid  silk  at  the  same  time  exuded  from  the 
spinnerets  was  thus  caused  to  adhere  thereto.  As  the  creature  moved  away 
the  thread  was  run  out  into  line,  and  gave  the  spider  a  firm  attachment. 
It  is  a  questioi  whether  this  anchorage  is  always  made  previous  to  flight, 
and  whether  the  thread  is  cut  immediately  before  the  ascent.  The  obser- 
vations made  all  pointed  to  an  affirmative  answer,  but  the  matter  was  not 
positively  settled. 

The    attempt  was   made  to   follow   some  of    the   aeronauts  beyond   the 
point  of   ascent.     The  difficulty  in  getting  the  minute  objects   in  position 


260 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


relative  to  the  sun  favorable  for  such  observation,  the  motion  of  the 
air  which  carried  them  upward,  as  well  as  the  rapidity  of  flight,  frustrated 
many  attempts.  A  position  was  finally  taken  beside  one  of  the  side  posts 
of  the  sliding  "bars,"  which  being  opened  gave  a  point  of  observation  with 
the  back  to  the  sun,  the  eye  upon  the  object,  and  a  fair  opportunity  to 
follow  it  without  the  delay  of  leaping  over  a  high  fence,  which  before  had 
been  between  the  observer  and  the  course  of  the  aeronaut  sailing  before  the 
wind.  Fortune  favored  patience,  and  at  last  a  spider  took  flight  in  a  line 
which  was  a  little  higher  than  the  face. 

Following   the   aranead   at   a   moderate  run,  with   the   eye   held   closely 
upon  it,  I  observed  that  the  position  of   the  body  was  soon  reversed ;   that 
is,  the  head  was  turned  in  the  direction  toward  which  the  wind  was  blow- 
ing, instead   of  the    point  from    which   it 
blew,  as  before  the  ascent.     Thus  the  long 
thread  which  streamed  out  above  the  aero- 
naut inclined  forward,  and  at  the  top  was 
in   advance   of   its   head.      I   also  observed 
that  the  legs    were   spread    out,   and    that 
they  had  been  united  at  the  feet  by  deli- 
cate   filaments    of    silk.      The    action    by 
which  the  spinningwork  was  accomplished 
was  not  noticed,  owing  to  the  smallness  of 
the    creature,    the    rapidity    of    its    move- 
ments, and  the  difficulty  of  such  an  excep- 
tional mode  of   observation.     But  the  fact 
was  noted.     The  reason  naturally  suggested 
for  it  is   the  increased  buoyancy  resulting 
Fig.  271.  Attitude  of  ballooning  spider  just  from  the  iucrcased  surfacc  thus  ofPcrcd  to 
CLTblfAtJrezr- "'''"'*  "''■'''  the    resistance    of    the    air,    provided,    of 

course,  any  reason  be  required  beyond  the 
animal's  need  of  some  sort  of  foothold  while  afloat.  Mr.  Emerton,^  in  the 
course  of  some  accurate  observations  of  ballooning  sp>^ers,  says  that  the 
most  of  them  while  afloat  hung  by  their  spinnerets  onW,  and  drew  their 
legs  close  against  their  bodies,  a  posture  which  I  have  a\so  sometimes  ob- 
served. \ 

The  spider  whose  behavior  I  am  now  describing  was  foWowed  for  a  dis- 
tance of  eighty  feet,  when  it  gradually  settled  downward  upo»n  the  meadow. 
Before,  or  rather  during,  this  ascent  a  small,  white,  flossy  ball  of  silk  was 
seen  accumulating  at  the  mouth,  which,  with  the  peculiar  motion  of  the 
fore  feet,  palps,  and  mandibles,  at  once  suggested  the  drawing  in  of  a 
thread.  This  behavior  is  not  infrequent  with  spiders  under  other  circum- 
stances;  indeed,  it  may  nearly  always  be  observed   when   webs  are  being 


Fig.  271. 


Fig.  272. 


1  "Flying  Spiders,"  American  Naturalist,  1872,  pages  l()8-9. 


THE    AERONAUTIC    OR    BALLOONING    HABIT. 


261 


ling  the 
Descent 


cleared  away,  and  during  ascent  upon  a  dropped  dragline  after  a  spider  has 
thrown  herself  from  her  snare.  But  it  became  esj^ecially  interesting  at  that 
moment,  for  at  once  it  suggested  an  act  of  volition  on  the  part 
i^°!!^I°  of  the  Lycosid,  by  which,  in  a  measure  at  least,  it  might  control 
its  descent.  Evidently  the  shortening  of  the  overhanging  thread 
operated  like  the  furling  of  sails  upon  a  vessel,  and  decreasing  the 
motion  of  the  spider  increased  the  influence  of  gravity  upon  the  body, 
which  thus  sank  toward  the  ground.  At  the  same  time,  the  diminution  of 
the  surface  of  the  thread  above,  and  the  increase  of  bulk  at  the  mouth 
(trifling  as  it  might  be),  tended  to  increase  the  buoyancy  of  the  whole,  and 
allowed  the  creature  to  fall.  The  same  effect  was  thus  produced  by  the 
spider   aeronaut,  and   by   a  strikingly  analogous   mode,  as   that   which   the 


human  aeronaut  accomplishes  when  he  con- 
tracts the  surface  of  his  balloon  by  causing 
the  inflating  gas  to  escape. 

The  manner  in  which  the  lines  of  spi- 
ders are  carried  out  from  the  spinnerets  by 
■  a  current  of  air  appears  to  be 
How  Pila-  ^j^^g .  ^g  ,^  preparatory  measure, 
■p  -ff  A  the  spinnerets  are  brought  into 
close  contact,  and  the  liquid  silk 
is  emitted  from  the  spinning  tubes ;  the 
spinnerets  are  then  separated  by  a  lateral 
motion,  which  breaks  up  the  silk  into  fine 
filaments;  on  these  filaments  the  air  current 
impinges,  drawing  them  out  to  a  length 
which  is  regulated  by  the  will  of  the  ani- 
mal; and,  on  the  spinnerets  being  again 
brought  together,  the  filaments  coalesce  and 
form  a  compound  line.^  According  to  Mr. 
Emerton,2  the  line  seems  to  come  from  the  middle  pair  of  spinnerets 
only,  but  the  posterior  pair  were  in  constant  motion,  folding  together 
over  the  middle  ones  and  then  spreading  apart  as  if  to  help  throw  out 
the  threads. 


Fig.  273.  Fig.  274. 

Fig.  273.  Floating  with  head  depressed, 
holding  to  a  foot  basket.  Fig.  274.  Bal- 
looning spider  gathering  in  its  threads 
for  descent. 


III. 

It  will  here  be  in  place,  and  will  add  to  the  understanding  of  the 
reader,  to  insert  a  few  field  notes  giving  in  detail  the  above  and  some 
further  facts  as  to  the  posture  and  action  of  spiders  before  and  during 
flight. 


1  "Blackwall  on  the  Structure,  Functions,  and    Pkonomy  of  the  Araneidea,"  Ann.  and 
Mag.  of  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  XV.,  page  241,  1845. 

2  "  Flying  Spiders,"  American  Naturalist,  1872,  page  168. 


262 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


There  is  no  difference  between  the  aeronautic  habit  of  these  araneads 
and  that  of  spiders  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Moreover,  obser- 
vations of  naturalists  on  ballooning  spiders  in  various  quarters  of  the  globe 
show  that  the  same  methods  everywhere  prevail.  It  will  be  further  ob- 
served that  the  notes  relate  chiefly  to\_Lycosids,  which  appear  to  be  univer- 
sally addicted  to  the  ballooning  habit. \  This  is  probably  true  of  all  Citi- 
grades.  \  It  is  worth}'-  of  special  notice  that  these  ground  spiders,  when 
seeking  aeronautic  flight,  take  pains  to  seek  some  elevated  spot  as  a  point 
of  departure.     This  is  not  limited  to  the  LycosidsJ  for  Mr.   Enock   speaks 

.-  —  ^__  of  young    Atypinse    in   Eng- 

land securing  an  easy  and  un- 
obstructed flight  in  the  same 
way.  The  instinctive  impulse 
which  urges  spiderlings  to 
leave  their  resorts  on  the 
ground  and  seek  spots  essen- 
tial for  favorable  ascent,  cer- 
tainly has  the  appearance  of 
reasoning  intelligence.  At  all 
events,  the  younglings,  by 
whatever  process  they  reach 
the  conclusion,  do  the  best 
thing  possible  to  aid  their 
ballooning  enterprise. 

Example  No.  1.  A  young 
Lycosid,  apparently  Lycosa 
scutulata  Hentz,  was  posed 
on  the  side  of  a  fence  post 
opposite  the  wind,  face  down- 
wards, abdomen  elevated,  the 
body  raised  by  the  legs.  I 
followed  it  after  flight  for  two 
hundred  feet;  it  rose  as  high 
as  thirty  feet  before  it  was  lost  to  sight.  Its  flight  was  across  a  wide 
meadow,  and  promised  to  be  a  long  one.  Several  threads  were  streaming 
out  and  up  behind  and  before  the  spider. 

No.  2.  A  Saltigrade,  probably  the  yoiing  of  Astia  vittata,  was  posed 
on  the  side  of  a  fence  board  opposite  the  wind.  Its  legs  were  elevated, 
thus  raising  up  the  body;  the  abdomen  was  turned  well  nigh  straight 
upward ;  a  long  thread  floated  out  and  up  from  the  spinnerets.  The 
spider  walked  several  inches  upward  along  the  rail,  keeping  its  body  in 
the  same  stilted  position,  the  thread  meanwhile  flying.  Then  it  was  off, 
rather  slowly,  and  about  on  a  line  with  my  face.  It  showed,  in  motion, 
one  small   thread  in  front  and  one  (or  more)   behind.     It  moved  straight 


Fig.  275.    Ballooning  Lycosids  ascending  from  a  fence  post, 
and  floating  before  the  wind. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OJl    BALLOONING   HABIT.  263 


forward   for  about   fifty  feet,  and   then  rose  suddenly  upward,  as   though     y 
it  had  passed  into  an  ascending  current  of  air. 

No.  3.     Lycosa;  observed  at  2  P.  M.     Pose  and  actions  as  No.  1.     After 
flight   I   distinctly   saw   one   thread   before   and    (apparently)    two    behind ; 
the  head  w^as  toward  the  wind.     After  sailing  fifteen  feet  it  rose  up  and     ^  ' 
out  of  sight,  a  long  stretch  of  meadow  before  it.     Once,  before  it  mounted, 
it  lifted  up  one  hind  foot,  as  though  laying  hold  upon  the  stay  thread. 

No.  4.  Lycosa ;  this  example  was  followed  for  a  distance  of  forty  or 
fifty  feet;  in  front  of  it  there  appeared  to  be  but  one  thread,  a  ray  of 
several  fine  diverging  threads  floated  behind  from  the  spinnerets.  Its 
back  was  toward  the  ground.  Its  abdomen  seemed,  but  could  not  be 
certainly  determined,  to  be  riding  in  front,  i.  e.,  toward  the  direction  of 
the  wind.  The  body  of  the  spider  was  thus  at  the  apex  of  the  angle 
formed  by  the  fore  and  hind  filaments,  the  free  points  of  which  were 
quite  far  apart.  The  balloon  struck  a  tree,  and  part  of  it  went  on,  the 
spider  apparently  staying  on  the  tree. 

No.  5.  Lycosa ;  this  specimen  floated  with  the  abdomen  toward  the 
point  of  departure.  Several  threads  ascended  from  it,  one  thread  in  front ; 
the  feet  were  gathered  together ;  but,  apparently,  the  back  was  upward. 
It  crossed  the  highway,  and  a  carriage  just  then  passing  interfered  with 
the  observation. 

No.  6.  The  head  rode  in  front,  the  back  was  certainly  toward  the  ground. 
A  fourfold  streamer  of  threads  was  thrown  out  before  mounting.  At  first 
the  spider  moved  off  slowly,  but  soon  climbed  up  the  fore  thread,  the 
"  bow,"  so  to  speak ;  further  on  it  climbed  up  the  rays  of  threads  a  dis-  "; 
tance  of  several  inches.  The  balloon,  when  lost  sight  of,  had  at  least  three 
separate  filaments.  It  was  followed  one  hundred  feet  before  it  rose  out 
of  sight. 

No.  7.  Lycosa ;  riding  back  downward ;  it  sailed  sidewise  part  of  the 
time ;  afterward  the  head  seemed  to  be  directed  toward  the  course  of  the 
wind. 

Before  vaulting  into  the  air  many  of  the  spiderlings  turned  their  ele- 
vated  abdomens   first  to   one   point  then   to   another;   repeating  the  action 
many  times,  as  though  testing  the  direction  of  the  wind.     The 
®„    °°' whole  process  of  aeronautic  flight,  as  it  has  been  described,  may 
marized     ^®  briefly  given  as  follows :    First,  the  spider  seeks  a  high  posi- 
tion, such  as  the  top  of  a  bush,  grass  stalk,  or  fence  post,  as  the 
point  of  ascent.     Second,  the  abdomen  is  elevated  to  as  nearly  a  right  angle 
with  the  cephalothorax  as  may  be.    Third,  a  ray  of  threads  is  issued  from 
the   spinnerets,  the  face  being   meanwhile   turned    to   various   points ;    the 
legs   are   stretched  upward,  thus  raising  the  body ;   fourth,  they  gradually 
incline   in   the   direction    of  the   breeze,  the  joints  straighten  out,  the  legs 
sink  forward  and  down  until  the  first  pair  are  almost  on  a  level  with  the 
surface,  the  whole  attitude  of  the  animal  being  that  of  one  resisting  some 


264  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

force  exerted  from  above.  Fifth,  suddenly  and  simultaneously  the  eight 
claws  are  unloosed,  and  the  spider  mounts  with  a  sharp  bound,  apparently, 
and  (sixth)  floats  oif  with  the  back  downward,  usually,  but  sometimes  with 
this  position  reversed.  Seventh,  at  first  the  abdomen  seems  to  be  in  ad- 
vance, but  generally  the  body  is  turned  so  that  the  head  rides  in  front. 
Eighth,  the  ray  of  threads  is  apparently  grasped  with  the  feet  and  floats 
out  in  front,  upon  which  (ninth)  sometimes  the  spider  will  climb  upward, 
as  though  to  adjust  the  centre  of  gravity.  Meanwhile  (tenth)  a  thread  or 
cluster  of  threads  issue  from  the  spinnerets  and  float  out  behind,  leaving 
the  spider  to  ride  in  the  angle  of  the  two  diverging  rays,  or,  as  it  some- 
times happens,  of  three,  which  are  widely  separated  at  the  upper  free 
ends.  Eleventh,  the  feet  seem  to  be  united  by  delicate  filaments,  which 
would  serve  to  increase  the  buoyancy  of  the  balloon.  Twelfth,  the  spider 
is  now  carried  forward  by  the  wind,  riding  for  long  distances  in  an  open 
space,  and  often  borne  high  upward  upon  ascending  currents,  -y  Thirteenth, 
the  anchorage  of  this  miniature  balloon  appears  at  times  to  be  within  the 
spider's  own  volition,  by  the  fact  that  it  can  draw  in  with  its  claws  the 
forward  ray  and  gather  it  in  a  white  roll  within  the  mandibles^  But 
most  frequently  the  balloonist  is  stopped  by  striking  against  some  ele- 
vated object,  or  by  the  subsidence  of  the  breeze.  A  bright  warm  day  in 
October  is  commonly  chosen  for  the  ascent,  and  judging  from  the  pres- 
ence of  a  number  of  dry  moults,  apparently  of  the  same  species  of  spider 
observed  in  flight,  the  animals  had  recently  cast  their  skins.    . 

IV. 

The  greatest  height  to  which  I  have  seen  spiders  ascend  is  about  one 
hundred   and   fifty  feet ;   but,    undoubtedly,   they   often   rise   much   higher. 

Dr.  Lincecum  observed  the  gossamer  balloons  of  certain  Texas 
z~f  species  floating    at    an  altitude  of    one  to   two   thousand    feet.^ 

Ascents     Blackwall    found    ascending   currents    of    air    acting    with    such 

force  upon  the  gossamer  streamers  as  to  raise  them  in  the  atmos- 
phere to  a  perpendicular  height  of  at  least  several  hundred  feet.^  Dr. 
Martin  Lister,  the  earliest  observer  of  the  habit  (A.  D.  1670),  says:  "As 
to  the  height  they  are  able  to  mount,  it  is  much  beyond  that  of  trees  or 
even  the  highest  steeples  in  England.  This  last  October  the  sky  here 
upon  a  day  was  very  calm  and  serene,  and  I  took  notice  that  the  air  was 
very  full  of  webs.  I  forthwith  mounted  to  the  top  of  the  highest  steeple  ^ 
in  the  Minster  [York],  and  could  thence  discern  them  yet  exceeding  high 
above  me;   some  that  fell  and  were  entangled  upon  pinnacles,  I  took  and 

^  "  The  Gossamer  Spider,"  American  Naturalist,  1874,  page  592. 
^  Trans.  Linn.  Society,  Vol.  XV.,  page  453. 

*  The  central  and  two  western  towers  are  201  feet  high.  Cathedrals  and  Abbeys  of 
Great  Britain,  Dr.  Wheatley. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR    BALLOONING   HABIT.  265 


found  them  to  be  lupi  [Lycosids],  which  seldom  or  never  enter  houses, 
and  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  taken  their  flight  from  the  steeples."  ^  I 
once  found  a  number  of  half  grown  Epeiras  upon  their  round  webs  on 
the  topmost  railing  of  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome  (Italy),  whither 
they  or  their  maternal  ancestor  had  doubtless  been  carried  by  the  wind 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

October  25th,  1883,  was   a   bright   day  following   a   series   of   cold,  wet 
days   caused   by   a   severe  northeast    storm.      At    noon,   while   crossing   the 

Chestnut  Street  Bridge,  Philadelphia,  I  saw  a  great  number  of 
Q^  aeronautic  threads  floating  in  the  air,  streaming  from  the  tips  of 

the  bridge  balustrade  and  lodged  upon  the  piers.  One  of  the 
threads,  a  long  filament,  was  sailing  slowly  toward  the  river  as  a  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  train  dashed  along  the  river  track  beneath  the  bridge.  It 
was  low  enough  to  strike  the  cars  as  they  rolled  by,  and  so  was  carried 
on  southward  with  its  tiny  voyager — another  illus- 
tration of  how  artificial  habits  of  man  tend  to 
the  geographical  distribution  of  life.  The  filaments 
were  long,  pure  white,  curled  or  wrinkled,  about 
one  millimetre  wide  or  less,  occasionally  expanded 
into  thicker  wads,  and  frequently  carried  attached 
to  them  minute  insects  which  had  doubtless  en- 
tangled in  the  fibres  as  the  jihreads  floated  in  the 
air.      (Fig.    280.)     On   one   thread    I   found   three,     ^     ^„    „ 

^  ,  .  F'G.  276.    Young  spider  sending 

on  another  two  small  flies.     The  young  balloonist       out  aeronautic  threads  whHe 
is   thus   provided   with  food  upon  his  landing,  if       ^^ngmg  upon  a  we  . 
he  choose  to  avail  himself  of  these  chance  supplies.     The  insects  are  sim- 
ply entangled,  as  the  fibre  is  without  viscidity. 

The  field   observations   recorded  above  have  been  confirmed   by  numer- 
ous studies  made  with  spiderlings  reared  in  the  house,  especially  the  young 

of  Epeira  sclopetaria,  Epeira  domiciliorum,  Epeira  insularis,  and 
oung-       Agalena  nsevia.     As  the  results  obtained  were  not  different  from 

those  already  given,  they  require  but  brief  mention.  When  let 
loose  into  the  air  from  the  finger  tip,  the  spiderlings  floated  out  by  a  sin- 
gle thread,  which  was  always  and  instantly  first  attached  to  the  finger. 
At  first  the  head  was  outward,  the  abdomen  being  turned  toward  the  hand, 
from  the  apex  of  which  the  long  superior  spinnerets  of  the  tubeweavers 
diverged.  Presently  the  little  creature  turned  and  cast  out  a  thread  be- 
hind, when,  if  permitted,  it  would  usually  clamber  up  the  original  thread 
to  the  finger.  When  this  was  broken  off,  the  spider,  seated  midway  of 
the  two  filaments,  floated  off  and  outward,  and  was  lost  to  sight.  Again, 
by  an  eddy  of  the  air,  the  thread  would  be  thrown  backward  and  upward 
and  catch  against  the  wall,  upon  which  the  little  voyager  would  anchor. 


^  Correspondence  of  John  Kay,  i>age  77.    Lister  to  Kay,  January  20th,  1670. 


266 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


At  other  times,  much  to  my  surprise,  after  the  thread  had  been  quite  lost 
to  view,  the  spider  was  supposed  to  be  far  away  upon  its  flight,  it  would 
descend  as  from  the  clouds,  and  send  out  its  silken  grapnels  against  the 
cheek  or  nose.  The  will  of  the  little  spider  seemed  to  have  no  control 
over  these  movements,  which  apparently  were  always  wholly  at  the  mercy 
of  the  wind.  However,  the  manner  of  accomplishing  aerial  flight  by 
means  of  the  buoyancy  of  a  single  thread,  or  rather  of  two  threads  united 
at  or  near  the  middle,  was  quite  in  accord  with  the  methods  above  de- 
scribed. 

V. 

While  the   young  balloonists  were  adventuring  their  flight  in  the  fields 
in  the  manner  heretofore  described,  several  species  of  small  Orbweavers  were 

making  or  waiting  for  their 
ascension  in  a  manner  so  dif- 
ferent that  it  requires  espe- 
cial notice.     These  were  sta- 
tioned upon  the  small  grass- 
es  and   weeds,   from   which 
innumerable  cords  of  spider 
silk  were  streaming,  and  up- 
on   which     similar    threads 
were  twisted  and  meshed  by 
the  eddies  of  the  wind  and 
the   passing   of    the    spider- 
lings    from    point   to   point. 
The    attitude    of    most    of 
these   was    one   of   expecta- 
tion.    Only    two    were    ob- 
served in  actual  flight,  and 
one  of  these  I  assisted.     The 
nearness  to  the  ground  and 
the   shelter   of    surrounding 
herbage   doubtless    retarded 
the  process.     However,  this 
greater  deliberateness  is  quite 
in  harmony  with  the  more 
phlegmatic  Orbweavers,  just  as  the  energy  of  the  Lycosids  in  mounting  the 
fence  and  their  haste  to  be  off  are  characteristic  of  that  group. 
The  little  Orbweavers  were  hanging  upon  the  lower  part  of  the 
floating  strings  near  the  point  of  attachment  to  the  grass.    Their 
backs  were  downward  and  their  heads  outward,  or  toward  the  free 
end  of  the  thread.    (Fig.  276.)    The  first,  second,  and  fourth  pairs 
of  legs  were  stretched  along  the  thread,  and  the   third   and   shortest   pair 


Fig.  277.    Aeronautic  Orbweavers  preparing  to  ascend  from 
floating  threads. 


Varia- 
tions : 
Orb- 
"weavers 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT.  267 


were  held  off,  curved,  the  feet  apparently  united  to  the  main  thread  by 
taut  filaments.  This  position,  as  far  as  could  be  determined,  was  main- 
tained after  flight.  In  some  cases  a  series  of  two  or  three  puffs  or  pellets 
of  floss  were  gathered  around  the  thread  between  its  free  end  and  the 
spiderling.  They  were  generally  cone  shaped,  the  apex  being  turned  toward 
the  animal.  In  form  they  were  not  unlike  the  pellets  which  one  used  to 
see  gathering  upon  the  roll  of  wool  as  it  passed  from  the  fingers  of  our 
maternal  ancestors  into  the  whirling  "flyers"  of  an  old  fashioned  spin- 
ning wheel.  (Fig.  277.)  Perhaps  they  may  have  been  wrought 
^  °®®y  by  a  similar  process,  the  twisting  of  the  loose  threads  through 
the  action  of  the  wind  and  the  counteraction  of  the  spider.  The 
continuation  of  such  twisting  must  presently  break  the  thread,  and  thus 
set  the  occupant  afloat.  The  greater  force  of  the  wind  secured  by  gently 
breaking  a  stalk  and  lifting  it  into  the  air  soon  snapped  ofp  a  thread,  car- 
rying the  little  aranead  away  with  it. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  mode  of  ballooning  prevails,  particu- 
larly among  Orbweavers  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  spider,  having  spun  out  a  long 
thread,  sometimes  thickened  at  the  attached  end,  lays  hold  upon  it  and 
waits  for  the  wind  to  pull  it  loose,  when  it  is  borne  away  and  aloft.  It 
is  even  probable  that  the  spider  may  cut  the  thread,  and  thus  procure 
her  own  release.  This  would  place  the  moment  of  ascent  within  her  own 
volition,  and  the  fact  (should  it  be  established)  would  add  greatly  to  the 
interest  with  which  one  must  regard  this  variation  in  the  aeronautic  habit 
of  these  interesting  araneads. 

Dr.  Gideon  Lincecum  has  put  upon  record  a  case  in  point.  ^  He  de- 
scribes the  balloon  of  a  Texas  Orbweaver,  which  he  calls  the  "  Gossamer 
Spider,"  as  follows :  A  lock  of  white  gossamer  five  or  six  inches  long  and 
two  inches  wide   in  the  middle,  tapering  toward    the  ends,  is   attached  to 

a  stalk,  bush,  or  other  elevated  obiect  by  a  thread  two  or  three 
A  Texas  j  ./ 

Q  . ,  inches  long.     At  the  free  end  or  "  bow,"  two  lines  thirty  or  forty 

Balloon.  ^^^^  ^^^S  ^^e  spun  out,  and  one  twenty  or  thirty  leet  long  is 
spun  from  the  attached  end  or  stern  of  the  aerial  craft.  All 
being  ready  for  ascent,  the  voyager  cuts  the  cable  which  holds  the  balloon, 
and  floats  briskly  upward  and  forward  on  an  inclined  plane,  or  bounds  aloft 
with  a  sharp  spring  that  eludes  one's  efforts  to  stop  it.  Lincecum's  descrip- 
tion of  the  hammock  shaped  balloon  and  its  float  lines  answers  very  well  to 
the  above  described  aeronautic  spinningwork  of  Orbweavers  (Fig.  277),  and 

ri.  am  disposed  to  accept  as  quite  trustworthy  the  statement  that  the  attached 
end    was    actually   severed    by   the    spider,   who    thus    controlled,    in   some 

[  measure,  the  period  of  her  ascent. 

Black  wall  had  already  observed  that  occasionally  spiders  may  be  found 
on  gossamer  webs  after  an  ascending  current  of  rarefied  air  has  separated 


^American  Naturalist,  1874,  page  595. 


268  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


them   from  the  objects  to  which  they  were   attached,  and  has  raised  them 

into  the  atmosphere.     He,  however,  added  the  opinion  that,  "as  they  never 

make  use  of  them  intentionally  in  the  performance  of  their  aero- 

„  ^  -        nautic   expeditions,   it    must   always   be   regarded   as   a  fortuitous 

looning      circumstance."^   [This  opinion,  I  think,  must  be  abandoned,  and 

the   conclusion  reached  that  there   are  two  modes  of  ballooning 

practiced  by  spiders,  viz. :  First,  ascent  by  means  of  the  buoyancy  of  lines 

issuing   directly   from   the   spinnerets,  the   aranead   vaulting   upward   from 

its  perch ;  and,  second,  the  ascent  upon  lines,  sometimes  thickened  by  flossy 

tufts  or  strands,  which  are  first  spun  out  and  attached  to  fixed  objects,  and 

afterward  released  by  the  force  oi  the  wind  or  cut  loose  by  the  spider,  j 

VI. 

While  arranging  a  collection  of  spiders  in  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia,  I  discovered  a  number  of  specimens  of  a  large 
Laterigrade,  the  Huntsman  spider,  Heterapoda  venatorius,  from 
Aerial  various  localities,  as  represented  upon  the  accompanying  tables 
and  chart.  (Fig.  278.)  Starting  with  the  specimens  in  my  private 
tion.  collection,  the  line  of   distribution  was  traced  from   Santa  Cruz, 

Virgin  Isles,  to  Cuba,  to  Florida,  across  Central  America,  Yucatan, 
and  Mexico;  across  the  Pacific  Ocean  by  way  of  Sandwich  Islands,  Japan, 
and  Loo-Choo  Islands;  and  thence  across  the  continents  of  Asia  and  Africa 
to  Liberia.  The  line  thus  indicated  extends  from  the  extreme  eastern  limit 
of  North  America  to  the  extreme  western  coast  of  Africa,  thus  girdling  the 
globe,  with  the  exception  of  54°  of  longitude.  This  excepted  area  ex- 
presses substantially  the  width  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

It  occurred  to  me,  when  this  fact  became  apparent,  that  this  line  of 
distribution  is  within  the  belt  of  the  North  Trade  Winds;  and,  further, 
that  there  might  be  some  connection  between  the  two  facts  and  the  fact 
that  Laterigrade  spiders,  to  which  group  this  animal  belongs,  are  among 
those  which  are  most  addicted,  in  the  earlier  stages  of  growth,  to  balloon 
migration.  Thereupon  I  referred  to  the  general  course  and  limits  of  the 
North  Trades,  which  are  roughly  indicated  in  the  chart  (Fig.  278)  by  the 
two  upper  lines  of  arrows,  marked  (at  the  ends)  A  A  and  B  B.  In  the  At- 
lantic Ocean  the  North  Trade  Winds  prevail  between  latitude  9°  N.  and 
30°  N. ;  in  the  Pacific  between  9°  N.  and  26°  N.  We  now  may  turn  to 
the  chart,  in  which  the  following  geographical  points  (shown  by  black 
spots  and  figures)  are  represented  by  our  spider.  The  specimens  which 
have  been  examined  in  the  Academy,  and  my  own  collections,  whose  habi- 
tats are  personally  known,  are  marked  by  an  asterisk  (*). 

The  species  is  credited  to  the  other  localities  named  on  the  authori- 
ties given  therewith. 


'  Blackwall,  Spiders  of  Gt.  Br.  and  Ir.,  Inti'oductioii,  page  12. 


THE   AERONAUTIC    OR    BALLOONING   HABIT. 


269 


A  comparison  of  this  table  with  the  cliart  will  at  once  show  that  the 
dotted  lines  in  the  latter,  which  indicate  the  geographical  belt  over  which 
Venatoria  is  distributed  correspond,  with  remarkable  general  exactitude, 
with  the  belt  over  which  the  North  Trades  blow.  It  is  not,  therefore,  an 
improbable  conjecture  that  this  distribution  has  been  accomplished  by 
means  of  tliose  winds  and  the  spider's  habit  of  aerial  flight.  It  is,  of 
course,  supposable  that  commerce,  following  largely  the  same  belt,  may 
have  originated  or  aided  this  distribution.  But  certain  facts  in  the  history 
of  the  spider  seem  to  forbid  this  hypothesis. 

Some  of  the  facts  are:  First,  the  early  discovery  of  the  species  as  al- 
ready widely  distributed  ;  second,  its  presence  at  so  many  different  insular 
points  nearly  or  altogether  contemporaneously  with  first  visits 
by  commercial  nations;  third,  the  existence  of  the  species  or  its 
close  allies  among  the  fauna  of  the  tropical  interiors  of  conti- 
nents far  distant  from  coast  lines;  fourth,  the  variations,  chiefly 
in  color,  which  have  been  observed,  and  which  would  seem  to 
require  for  their  development  a  longer  period  than  that  which  has  tran- 
spired since  the  commencement  of  commercial  communication  with  the 
localities  in  which  the  variations  have  been  wrought.  While  one  may 
not  conclude  with  absolute  certainty  from  these  facts,  they  w^arrant  the 
theory  that  the  Huntsman  spider  has  become  cosmopolitan  by  the  action 
of  Nature,  independent  of  the  aid  of  man. 

Table  of  Distribution  North  op  the  Equator. 


Not  Ar 
tificial 
Distri- 
bution. 


Locality. 

Latitude. 

Longitude  (Qb.). 

Authobity. 

1 .  Palmyra  Island 

6°  I^ 

7°-  8°  N. 
25°-29°  N. 
30°-40°  N. 

6°-10°  N. 
12°  N. 

5°-  9°  N. 
17°  N. 
15°  N. 
18°  N. 
18°  N. 
20°-23°  N. 
30°  N. 
20°  N. 
20°  N. 
? 

20°  N. 

163°  W. 
134°  E. 
128°  E. 
130°-140°  E. 

96°-  97°  E. 

80°  E. 

10°  W. 

16°  W. 

61°  W. 

65°  W. 

77°  W. 

74°-85°   W. 

81°  W. 

82°-91°  W. 

97°  W. 
109°-117°  W. 
155°-160°  W. 

* 

2.  Pelew  Islands 

L.  Koch. 

3.  Jjoo-Choo  Islands 

* 

4.  Japan 

5.  Xicobar  Islands 

* 
Bock. 

6.  Tranquebar,  India 

Fabricius. 

7.  Liberia,  Africa 

8.  Senegal,  Africa  ....        

•* 
Walckenaer. 

9.  Martinique,  North  America 

10.  Santa  Cruz 

* 

•X- 

11.  Jamaica 

12.  Cuba 

13.  Florida 

14.  Yucatan ' 

15.  Mexico,  Jalapa 

16.  California       

Walckenaer. 

* 

* 
L.  Koch. 

17.  Oahu,  Sandwich  Islands 

* 

I  was  so  impressed  by  the  above  chain  of  facts,  and  so  confident  of 
the   inference   therefrom,   that   I   ventured   to  predict  that   corre- 

,.  ,.®'  sponding  results  would  follow  a  comparison  of  specimens  collect- 
ed from  all  quarters ;  that  is  to  say,  they  would  be  found  to  lie 

within  the  belt  of  the  North  or  South  Trade  Winds.    The  only  specimens  at 


270 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


hand  were  those  cited  above,  and  from  Zululand  and  Surinam.  But  I 
was  able  to  pursue  the  matter  by  reference  to  locations  given  by  a  number 
of  naturalists.  I  was  aided  in  this  by  references  kindly  sent  me  by  Mr. 
William  Holden.  Some  of  the  localities  thus  obtained  have  been  named 
above,  and  others  were  found  to  correspond  with  the  points  represented 
by  the  specimens  examined.     So  far  my  conjecture  was  verified. 

The  two  lower  arrow  lines  in  the  chart,  C  C  and  D  D,  give  a  general 
view  of  the  course  and  limits  of  the  South  Trades,  which  prevail  in  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  between  latitude  4°  N.  and  22°  S.,  and  the  Pacific  between 
latitude  4°  N.  and  23^°  S.^  It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  these  limits 
are  not  stationary,  but  follow  the  sun,  moving  northward  from  January 
to  June,  and  southward  from  July  to  December ;  an  oscillation  which  is 
also  indicated  in  the  zone  of  distribution.  They  are,  however,  substantially 
as  above  given,  and  may  be  compared  with  the  following  table,  which 
shows  the  southern  geographical  distribution  of  this  species,  according  to 
the  authorities  cited  therein  : — 

Table  of  Distribution  South  op  the  Equator. 


Locality. 


1. 
2. 
3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 


Viti  Levu,  Fejee  Islands 16° 

New  Caledonia 

Sidney,  Australia      

Australia 

Singapore    

Zanzibar,  Africa 

Southeast  Equatorial  Africa 

Mauritius 

Madagascar *. 

Zululand 

Pernambuco 

Brazil      

Rio  Janeiro 

Surinam 

Valparaiso,  Chili 

Tahiti,  Huaheine,  Society  Islands  .   . 

Rarotonga,  Cook's  Islands 

Upolu,  Navigator  Island 

Tongatabu,  Friendly  Islands    .... 


Latitode. 

Longitude  (Gb.). 

Authority. 

16°  S. 

180°  W. 

L.  Koch. 

20°-22°  S. 

163°-162  E. 

« 

33°  S. 

150°  E. 

Bock. 

ll°-30°  S. 

105°-115  E. 

L.  Koch. 

2°  N. 

104°  E. 

Walck. 

6°  S. 

40°  E. 

Gerstaecker.^ 

10°-20°  S.  (?) 

30°-50°  E. 

Blackwall. 

20°  S. 

56°  E. 

Walckenaer. 

8°-26°  S. 

43°-50°  E. 

Vinson. 

20°  S. 

28°  E. 

* 

7°  S. 

37°  W. 

37°-70°  W. 

Simon,  Walck. 

23°  S. 

50°  W. 

AValck. 

6°  N. 

55°  W. 

* 

33°  S. 

70°  W. 

L.  Koch. 

18°  S. 

150°  W. 

22°  S. 

162°  W. 

(1 

13i°-14J°  S. 

168°-173°  W. 

(1 

20°  S. 

172°-176°  W. 

a 

This  table  shows  a  distribution  corresponding  with  the  limits  of  the 
South  Trades,  with,  in  three  cases,  viz.,  Sidney  (3),  Surinam  (14),  and  Val- 
paraiso (15),  a  slight  oscillation  in  accord  with  a  fact  above  stated.     Thus 


^  The  arrow  line  which  indicates  the  course  of  the  Trades  is  intended  to  give  only  the 
general  direction.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  that  course,  in  the  case  of  the  Southern  Trades, 
is  more  nearly  conterminous  with  the  line  of  distribution  than  here  shown.  The  arrow 
line  should  not  run  directly  westward  from  Valparaiso,-  Chili  (No.  15),  but  from  a  point  10° 
above  it,  passing  just  south  of  Friendly  Isles  (No.  19). 

^  Gerstaecker  speaks  of  species  as  distributed  over  a  large  part  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  South 
America.    See  Von  der  Decken's  Travels  in  East  Africa,  III.,  ii.,  page  482. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT, 


271 


272  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


was  entirely  fulfilled  the  expectation  with  which  I  entered  upon  the  prep- 
aration of  these  comparative  tablesJ 

It  may  not  be  without  interest,  and  may,  perhaps,  have  some  bearing 
upon  the  above  theory  of  distribution,  to  remark  that  the  genus  (or  a 
closely  allied  genus)  to  which  Heterapoda  venatoria  belongs  is  probably 
one  of  tlie  oldest  known  forms  of  the  spider  fauna.  Thorell  ^  places  the 
now  existing  genus  Heterapoda  (Ocypete,  Koch ;  Oxypete,  Menge)  among 
those  whicli  are  represented  in  the  amber  spiders.  Amber  probably  be- 
longs to  the  tertiary  (oligocene)  period,  and  in  it  numerous  spiders  are 
found,  generally  well  preserved.  How  far  any  supposed  contiguity  or 
closer  approach  of  continents  now  separated  might  have  facilitated  or  oc- 
casioned the  world  round  distribution  of  our  Huntsman  spider,  is  a  point 
upon  which  geologists  may  more  properly  express  an  opinion. 

The  question,  what  variation  of  species,  if  any,  occurs  in  the  course 
of  this  distribution,  is  of  great  interest.  The  specimens  examined  by  me 
show  no  variations  which  may  not  come  within  the  range  of 
Variation  those  natural  differences  which  obtain  in  many  species.  Most  of 
,  ^.  ,  .  the  specimens  had  been  so  long  in  alcohol  as  to  obliterate  any 
bution  differences  in  color  and  markings  which  might  have  existed. 
The  normal  color  is  a  uniform  tawny  yellow,  varied  upon  the 
cephalothorax  by  a  circular  patch  of  blackish  or  blackish  brown  color 
covering  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  space ;  and,  further,  by  a  white  or  whit- 
ish marginal  band  quite  or  nearly  girdling  the  same.  In  some  of  the 
specimens  this  circular  patch  seems  to  have  been  more  or  less  of  a  brown- 
ish color.  Gerstaecker  ^  speaks  of  this  species  as  distributed  over  a  large 
part  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  South  America,  Specimens  were  examined  by 
him  from  Dafeta,  Mombas,  and  Zanzibar.  In  these  there  was  some  varia- 
tion in  the  coloration  of  the  maxillary  palpi :  on  the  one  hand,  from  a 
light  rust  color  to  brownish  red  and  pitch  brown ;  on  the  other  hand,  to 
a  more  or-  less  sharp  division  or  limitation  of  the  light  yellow  color  of 
the  anterior  and  posterior  borders  of  the  cephalothorax.  There  was  also 
a  browning  of  the  region  about  the  eyes.  But  the  araneologist  will  not 
regard  such  differences  as  having  any  special  value  as  specific  characters. 

^  When  these  studies  were  originally  announced  in  the  Philadelphia  Academy,  I  had 
no  specimens  from  the  South  Pacific  Islands  within  the  same  general  belt ;  nor  from  the 
chain  of  small  islands  between  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  Asia,  viz.,  Philadelphia,  Drake,  and 
Massachusetts  Islands,  Anson  and  Magellan  Archipelagoes ;  nor  the  Cape  Verde  and  St. 
Helena  Islands,  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  Nevertheless,  I  expressed  the  belief  that  these 
had  all  been  stations  in  the  line  of  migration,  the  latter  across  the  Atlantic  Ocean  as  the 
Antilles  have  been ;  the  former  across  the  Pacific,  as  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Loo-Choo  Island, 
and  Japan  have  been,  and  as  Mauritius  and  Madagascar  Islands  have  been  across  the  In- 
dian Ocean.  Moreover,  I  ventured  the  prediction  that  a  more  diligent  search  would  prove  that 
this  cosmopolitan  species  exists,  and  probably  had  already  been  collected  at  some  of  the 
above  points. 

^  European  Spiders,  page  231,  Nov.  Acta.  Keg.  Soc.  Sci.,  Upsal.,  1870. 

•*  Yon  der  Decken's  Travels  in  East  Africa,  III.,  ii.,  page  482. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT. 


273 


VII. 

There  seems  nothing  improbable  in  the  theory  of  aerial  circumnaviga- 
tion  suggested   to   explain  the  series  of  facts  above   presented.     There  are 

not,  indeed,  many  recorded  observations  of  the  distances  to  which 
pi  ers      gpiciers   are   carried   out  to   sea   in  their  aeronautic  flights.     But, 

before  a  strong  steady  wind,  or  in  cases  of  storm,  it  is  possible 
that  the  greatest  distances  which  appear  in  the  tables  could  be  overcome. 
An  observation  of  Mr.  Darwin  is  the  only  recorded  one  to  which  I  can 
refer.  1  At  the  distance  of  sixty  miles  from  land,  while  the  "Beagle"  was 
sailing  before  a  steady,  light  breeze,  the  rigging  was  covered  with  vast 
numbers  of  small  spiders  with  their  webs.  The  little  spider,  when  first 
coming  in  contact  with  the  rigging,  was  always  seated  upon  a  single 
thread.  While  w^atching  some  that  were  suspended  by  this  filament,  the 
slightest  breath  of  air  was  found  to  bear  them  out  of  sight.  I  have  ob- 
served   similar    single   threaded    "  balloons "  sailing  at  considerable  height 


Pio.  279.    The  Huntsman  spider;  a  male.    C,  the  female's  cocoon. 

above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  know  no  reason  why,  with  a  favorable 
breeze,  they  might  not  have  been  carried  hundreds  of  miles.  That  they 
were  carried  at  least  sixty  miles,  as  Mr.  Darwin's  testimony  shows,  and 
that  before  a  light  breeze,  gives  great  probability  to  such  a  conjecture.  It 
is  to  be  noted,  moreover,  that  the  spiders  arrested  by  the  "  Beagle's "  rig- 
ging were  evidently  moving  on  when  so  stopped,  and  some  of  them,  when 
arrested,  soon  resumed  their  flight  across  the  main. 

I  am  able  to  add  a  valuable  observation  in  the  same  line  as  that  of 
Dr.  Darwin's.  The  late  Capt.  George  H.  Dodge,  of  the  American  Line 
steamer  "  Pennsylvania,"  informed  me,  during  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
in  the  winter  of  '81-2,  that  he   had  found  the  masts  and  rigging  of  his 

^  Voyage  of  the  Beagle,  Vol.  III.,  page  187. 


274  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

vessel  covered  in  the  same  way  with  innumerable  webs  of  spiders,  while 
sailing  during  the  month  of  March  along  the  eastern  coast  of  South 
America.  His  ship  was  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  land  and 
about  four  hundred  miles  south  of  the  equator.  The  wind  at  the  time,  ac- 
cording to  his  recollection,  was  blowing  from  the  westward  ;  that  is,  from 
the  continent.  Captain  Dodge,  at  my  request,  communicated  the  facts 
in  writing,  the  incident  having  been  impressed  upon  his  memory  by  the 
strangeness  of  seeing  such  creatures  so  far  otit  at  sea.  "  The  spiders 
seemed  like  little  elongated  balls,  with  a  sort  of  umbrella  canopy  above 
them.  They  settled  upon  the  sails  and  rigging,  and,  finally,  disappeared 
as  they  came."  ^ 

The   purpose    of    such    a    remarkable    habit    as   these    facts   exhibit   is, 

doubtless,  to   secure  the  distribution   of  species   throughout  wide 

IS  n  u-   j.ggJQj-^g      rpj^g    buoyant    filaments    of    spider    gossamer   serve   the 

tiny  arachnid  the  same  good  office  that  is  rendered  the  dandelion 

and  thistle  seed  by  the  starry  rays  ^f  down  surrounding  them. 

VIII.  , 

The  ballooning  habit  of  spiders  gives  a  complete  explanation  of  a  nat- 
ural phenomenon  which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  men  from  an  early 

period,  and  which  has  been  variously 
alluded  to  in  prose  and  poetical  writ- 
ings, viz..  Showers  of  Gossamer. 

One  who  walks  the  open  fields  in 
the  latter  part  of  September  or  in  the 
soft   bright    days    of    October,   which 
is  the  most  delightful   period   of  our 
Fig.  280.  A  floccuient  thread  of  gossamer,  with        American  year,  will  uoticc  great  quan- 

small  flies  entangled.  ■  ,  .,  -n      ,       -t  in, 

,  titles  or  spider  silk  trailing  and  float- 
ing from   the   stalks  of  weeds   and   grasses,  and   indeed   from  all   elevated 
objects.     In  the  early   morning,  when   the   dew  deposited   upon  these  fila- 
ments betrays  their   presence,  one  will  be  surprised   at  the  vast 
„,  amount  visible.     Further  on  in  the  day  he  will  observe  quantities 

of  this  threaded  spinningwork  sailing  through  the  air.  (Fig.  280.) 
A  great  excess  of  these  floating  tufts  and  filaments  constitutes  what  is  com- 
monly known  as  a  gossamer  shower.  Doubtless  Pliny  alluded  to  such  a 
phenomenon  in  the  statement  which  he  makes  ^  that  "  in  the  year  that 
L.  Paulus  and  C.  Marcellus  were  consuls  it  rained  wool  about  the  castle 
Carissa,  near  to  which,  a  year  after,  T.  Annius  Milo  was  slain." 


^  Captain  Dodge  adds,  very  significantly :  "  You  know  tliat  it  is  not  unusual  for  birds  to 
be  blown  out  to  sea.  How  much  easier  for  a  spider,  provided  he  had  the  means  to  keep 
himself  suspended  in  the  air ! " 

*  Natural  History,  II.,  54.    Holland's  translation,  page  27. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT.  275 

In  later  days,  among  our  English  ancestors,  an  explanation  of  this 
phenomenon  even  stranger  than  Pliny's  prevailed  and  found  expression 
through  some  of  the  English  bards.     For  example,  Spenser  writes: — 

"  More  subtle  web  Arachne  cannot  spin ; 
Nor  the  fine  nets,  which  oft  we  woven  see, 
Of  scorched  dew,  do  not  in  th'  ayre  more  lightly  flee."^ 

Still  later  Thomson  in  his  "  Seasons "  utters  the  same  idea : — 

"  How  still  the  breeze !  save  what  the  filmy  threads 
Of  dew  evaporate  brushes  from  the  plain."* 

We  have,  however,  passed  beyond  the  period  when  so  simple  a  natural 
phenomenon  could  be  accounted  for  on  such  an  impossible  theory  as  that 
of  autumnal  dews  scorched  by  the  sun. 

I  have  never  been  so  fortunate  as  to  observe  anything  that  could  be 
called  a  "  shower "  of  gossamer,  although  I  have  seen  quantities  of  the 
material  afloat  in  the  air  or  fluttering  from  the  foliage.  I  will  therefore 
quote  from  others  a  description  of  the  phenomenon.  Mr.  Kirby  describes 
the  gossamer  observed  by  him  early  in  the  morning  as  spread  over  stub- 
bles and  fallows,  sometimes  so  thickly  as  to  make  them  appear  as  if  cov- 
ered with  a  gauzy  carpet,  or  rather  overflown  by  a  sea  of  gauze,  presenting, 
when  studded  with  dewdrops,  a  most  enchanting  spectacle.^ 

Rev.  Gilbert  White,  whose  "  Natural  History  of  Selborne "  has  been  so 
long  and  deservedly  popular,  describes  such  an  incident  as  occurring  in 
England  on  September  21st,  1741.  At  daybreak  he  fo'und  the  stubble 
and  clover  grounds  matted  all  over  with  a  thick  coat  of  cobwebs,  in  the 
meshes  of  which  a  heavy  dew  hung  so  plentifully  that  the  whole  face  of 
the  country  seemed  covered  with  two  or  three  fishing  set-nets  drawn  one 
over  another.  The  dogs  were  so  blinded  by  this  deposit  that  they  could 
not  hunt,  but  lay  down  and  scraped  the  encumbrances  from  their  faces 
with  their  fore  feet.  "As  the  morning  advanced,"  writes  the  author,  "the 
sun  became  bright  and  warm,  and  the  day  turned  out  one  of  those  most 
lovely  ones  which  no  season  but  autumn  produces,  cloudless,  calm,  serene, 
and  worthy  of  the  south  of  France  itself.  About  nine,  an  appearance  very 
unusual  began  to  demand  our  attention — a  shower  of  cobwebs 
„  .,  falling  from  very  elevated   regions,  and   continuing  without   any 

Shower  interruption,  till  the  close  of  the  day.  These  webs  were  not 
single  filmy  threads,  floating  in  the  air  in  all  directions,  but  per- 
fect flakes  or  rags ;  some  near  an  inch  broad,  and  five  or  six  long,  which 
fell  with  a  degree  of  velocity  that  showed  they  were  considerably  heavier 
than  the  atmosphere. 

1  Faerie  Queene,  B.  2,  XII.,  s.  77.  '^  Seasons :  Summer,  I.,  1209. 

*  Kirby  and  Spence,  Introduction  to  Entomology,  Vol.  II.,  341,  Letter  XXIII. 


276  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

"  On  every  side,  as  the  observer  turned  his  eyes,  he  might  behold  a 
continual  succession  of  fresh  flakes  falling  into  his  sight,  and  twinkling 
like  stars,  as  they  turned  their  sides  towards  the  sun." 

This   shower   extended   over   at   least   eight   miles   of  territory,  for   Mr. 
White  received  an  account  from  a  trustworthy  gentleman  living  that  dis- 
tance from  his  house,  corroborating  his  own  observation.     This 
Extent       gentleman  met  the  gossamer  shower  while  he  was  riding  abroad, 
„,  and,    concluding  that    he   could    escape  it    by   mounting   a   hill 

above  his  fields,  which  was  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  rode 
to  that  point.  But,  to  his  astonishment,  when  reaching  this  lofty  spot, 
he  found  webs  apparently  still  stretched  as  far  above  him  as  before,  still 
descending  into  sight  in  a  constant  succession  and  twinkling  in  the  sun 
as  they  fell.  Neither  before  nor  after,  says  Mr.  White,  was  any  such  a 
fall  observed ;  but  on  this  day  the  flakes  hung  in  the  trees  and  hedges 
so  thick  that  a  diligent  person  sent  out  might  have  gathered  baskets 
full.i 

Another  account,  quite  as  noteworthy  as  the  above,  was  reported  in 
the  "  London  Times "  on  October  9th,  1826,  which  I  quote  from  Mr. 
Frank  Cowan's  interesting  and  valuable  "  Curious  Facts."  ^  "  On  Sunday, 
October  1st,  1826,  a  phenomenon  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Liverpool  was  observed  in  that  vicinage,  and  for  many  miles 
Another  (]istant,  especially  at  Wigan.  The  fields  and  roads  were  covered 
„,  with  a  light  filmy  substance,  which,  by  many  persons,  was  mis- 

taken for  cotton;  although  they  might  have  been  convinced  of 
their  error,  as  staple  cotton  does  not  exceed  a  few  inches  in  length,  while 
the  filaments  seen  in  such  incredible  quantities  extended  as  many  yards. 
In  walking  in  the  fields  the  shoes  were  completely  covered  with  it,  and 
its  floating  fibres  came  in  contact  with  one's  face  in  all  directions.  Every 
tree,  lamp  post,  or  other  projecting  body  had  arrested  a  portion  of  it. 
It  profusely  descended  at  Wigan  like  a  sheet,  and  in  such  quantities  as 
to  affect  the  appearance  of  the  atmosphere.  On  examination  it  was  found 
to  contain  small  flies,  some  of  which  were  so  diminutive  as  to  require  a 
magnifying  glass  to  render  them  perceptible.  The  substance  so  abun- 
dant in  quantity  was  supposed  by  the  writer  who  described  the  phenom- 
enon to  be  the  gossamer  of  the  garden  or  field  spider,  often  met  in  fine 
weather  in  the  country,  and  of  which,  according  to  Buff  on,  it  would  take 
663,552  spiders  to  produce  a  single  pound." 

An  English  writer  ^  describes  what  he  calls  a  "  Visitation  of  Spiders," 
which  occurred  at  Newcastle-on-Tyne.  Three  miles  of  iron  railing  in  the 
writer's  neighborhood  was  covered  with  the  little  creatures.  They  were 
equally  numerous  about  one  mile  north  of  Newcastle,  and,  in  fact,  covered 

^  Natural  History  of  Selborne,  Letter  LXV. 

^  Curious  Facts  in  the  History  of  Insects,  including  Spiders  and  Scorpions. 

*  "  Science  Gossip,"  December  1st,  1865,  page  282. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING  HABIT.  277 

the  entire  town.  A  gentleman  from  Hexham,  a  town  twenty  miles  from 
Newcastle,  reported  that  they  were  abundant  there  also.  The  spiders  were 
unknown  up  to  that  time,  Mr.  Blackwall  not  having  described  them  in 
his  elaborate  work  on  the  "  Spiders  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  only 
having  noticed  them  in  the  "Annals  of  Natural  History"  in  1863,  previous 
to  which  time  they  had  not  been  observed  in  England.  No  one  had  ob- 
served this  spider  in  the  neighborhood  of  Newcastle  up  to  the  time  of 
their  appearance,  and  they  disappeared  as  suddenly  as  they  came.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Blackwall,  the  spider  is  an  aeronautic  species,  Neriene 
dentipalpis. 

One  of  the  most  temperate  descriptions  of  a  gossamer  shower  I   quote 

from  Mr.  Blackwall.     A  little  before  noon  on  an  October  day  which  was 

remarkably  calm  and  sunny,  with  the  thermometer  in  the  shade 

Black-        ranging  from   fifty-five  to   sixty-four  degrees,   Mr.    Blackwall   ob- 

^*.  f.  ®"  served  that  the  fields  and  hedges  in  the  neighborhood  of  Maii- 
scription.  . 

Chester,  England,  were  covered  over  with  a  profusion  of  fine,  glossy 

lines,  intersecting  one  another  at  every  angle  and  forming  a  confused  kind 
of  network.  So  extremely  numerous  were  these  slender  filaments  that  in 
walking  across  a  small  pasture  his  feet  and  ankles  were  thickly  coated 
•  with  them.  It  was  evident,  however,  notwithstanding  their  great  abun- 
dance, that  they  must  have  been  produced  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  for 
early  in  the  morning  they  had  not  attracted  his  notice. 

A  circumstance  so  extraordinary  could  not  fail  to  excite  the  curiosity 
of  so  keen  an  observer.  But  what  more  particularly  arrested  his  attention 
was  the  ascent  of  an  amazing  quantity  of  webs  of  irregular  and  compli- 
cated structure,  resembling  raveled  silk  of  the  finest  quality  and  clearest 
white.  They  were  of  various  shapes  and  dimensions,  some  of  the  longest 
measuring  upwards  of  five  feet  in  length  and  several  inches  in  breadth  in 
the  widest  part,  while  others  were  almost  as  broad  as  long,  presenting  an 
area  of  a  few  square  inches  only.     Mr.    Blackwall   quickly  perceived  that 

these  gossamer  threads  were  not  fonned  in  the  air,  as  was  gen- 
orma-      orally  supposed  at  that  time  (1826)   even  among  naturalists,  but 

at  the  earth's  surface.  The  lines  of  which  they  were  composed 
being  brought  into  contact  by  the  mechanical  action  of  gentle  airs,  adhered 
together,  until  by  continual  additions  they  were  accumulated  into  flakes  or 
masses  of  considerable  magnitude.  On  these  masses  of  spinningwork  the 
ascending  current,  occasioned  by  the  rarefaction  of  the  air  contiguous  to 
the  heated  ground,  acted  with  so  much  force  as  to  separate  them  from 
the  objects  to  which  they  were  attached,  raising  them  in  the  atmosphere 
to  a  perpendicular  height  of  at  least  several  hundred  feet. 

About  midday  Mr.  Blackwall  collected  a  number  of  these  webs  as  they 
arose,  and  again  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  upturned  current  had  ceased 
to  support  them  and  they  were  falling.  Scarcely  one  in  twenty  contained 
a   spider,  though   on  minute    inspection  ^he  found    small   winged   insects. 


278  AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


chiefly  aphides,  entangled  in  most  of  them.  This  flight  of  gossamer  ap- 
pears to  have  been  quite  general  throughout  Great  Britain,  as  it  was  no- 
ticed in  England,  Wales,  and  even  in  Ireland.  ^ 

Mr.  Black  wall  is  undoubtedly  correct  in  the  suggestion  which  he  makes 
as  to  the  origin  of  gossamer  showers.  My  own  observations,  at  least,  are 
precisely  in  the  direction  of  his  conclusion.  As  has  already  been 
rigin  o  g^i^^  ^j^g  aerial  excursions  of  spiders  in  the  United  States  usually 
occur  in  the  soft,  balmy  days  of  early  autumn,  during  the  months 
of  September  and  October,  although  they  occur  in  a  less  degree  during  the 
first  warm  days  of  June.  The  reasons  for  this  are  manifest.  In  the  first 
place  the  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  are  favorable.  The  balmy  weather 
invites  the  spiders  to  issue  from  their  hiding  places  and  attempt  aerial 
flight.  The  wind  is  not  high  enough  to  disturb  their  excursions,  and  yet 
the  temperature  is  sufficiently  high  to  cause  ascending  currents  of  air. 
Were  the  weather  cold  or  rainy  spiders  would  not  venture  forth.  Were 
the  wind  high  its  violence  would  greatly  interfere  with  their  excursions. 
Were  the  air  perfectly  still  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  mount 
above  the  earth.  But  the  conditions  being  favorable,  as  they  generally  are 
in  the  halcyon  days  of  our  American  autumn,  immense  numbers  of  spi- 
ders, but  particularly  the  young,  may  be  found  upon  all  manner  of  elevat- 
ed objects — blades  of  grass,  weeds,  bushes,  fences,  and  what  not — essaying 
an  aeronautic  flight. 

In  many,  and  I  would  venture  to  say  in  the  great  majority  of  cases, 
before  a  successful  ascent  is  accomplished  many  unsuccessful  attempts  are 
made.  A  spider  will  assume  the  proper  position  and  spin  out 
rp,  ,  a  long  thread.  For  various  reasons,  which  we  are  not  able  to 
explain,  it  fails  to  mount  aloft.  The  thread  floats  in  the  air 
until  it  is  whipped  off  by  the  breeze.  One,  two,  or  a  dozen  attempts  of 
this  sort  produce  as  many  floating  filaments.  These  while  waving  to  and 
fro  in  the  eddying  air  are  sometimes  tangled  together  before  they  are  loos- 
ened. Others,  again,  are  united  in  the  air  after  release.  If  now  we  thinlc 
of  the  unnumbered  myriads  of  young  spiders  who  are  abroad  at  this  sea- 
son, all  moved  by  the  common  impulse  to  fly  away  from  their  present 
site,  and  all  making  the  unsuccessful  efforts  described,  we  can  imagine 
the  enormous  quantity  of  loose  filaments  of  gossamer  threads  which  would 
thus  be  set  afloat  within  a  short  period  of.  time. 

These,  no  doubt,  ascend  to  a  certain  height,  at  which  they  become 
more  or  less  united  into  a  loose,  flocculent  mass,  and  from  which,  in  the 
cool  of  the  evening,  or  on  the  cessation  of  the  air  currents,  they  slowly 
descend,  and  add  to  the  quantity  already  fluttering  from  all  points  of 
the  herbage  on  the  surface. 

*  "Researches  in  Zoology,"  by  John  Blackwall,  F. L. S.,  second  edition,  London,  1873, 
page  258,  sq. 


THE   AERONAUTIC   OR   BALLOONING   HABIT.  279 


This  is  a  natural,  and  undoubtedly  is  the  true,  explanation  of  gossamer 
showers.  The  theories  which  have  attributed  them  to  electrical  phenomena, 
or  to  the  shooting  out  of  threads  from  the  spinnerets  by  the  physical 
power  of  spiders  before  their  ascent,  must  be  dismissed  as  having  no  foun- 
dation in  fact.  They  are  really  no  more  worthy  of  credit  than  the  popu- 
lar superstition  that  these  fleeing  cobwebs  are — 

"Caused  by  the  autumnal  sun, 
That  boils  the  dew  that  on  the  earth  doth  lie." 

The  French  naturalist  Mr.  Virey  made  certain  observations  and  ex- 
periments which  led  him  to  conclude  that  spiders  "  swim  in  the  air  "  by 
approximating  their  limbs  and  striking  the  air  as  birds  or  insects  do  their 
wings.  Moving  the  feet  with  incredible  agility,  they  are  able  by  means 
of  the  vibration  to  propel  themselves  through  the  atmosphere.  ^  In  this 
bold  but  fanciful  conjecture,  as  Blackwall  properly  terms  it,  Mr.  Virey  was 
anticipated  by  Dr.  Lister.  "  Certainly  this  is  a  rope  dancer,"  he  writes, 
"  and  itself  effects  its  ascent  and  sailing.  For,  by  means  of  its  legs,  closely 
applied  to  each  other,  it  balances  itself,  as  it  were,  and  promotes  and  di- 
rects its  course  no  otherwise  than  as  if  Nature  had  furnished  it  with 
wings  or  oars."  ^ 

Notwithstanding  the  importance  which  such  names  give  to  the  suppo- 
sition, it  is  thoroughly  unworthy  of  belief.  The  only  movement  which  I 
have  ever  perceived  on  the  part  of  spiders  is  a  momentary  adjustment  of 
their  bodies,  so  as  to  swing  them  between  'the  two  floating  rays  of  threads 
that  constitute  their  balloon;  and,  also,  to  spin  the  little  foot  basket  or 
support  for  their  feet,  which  I  have  heretofore  described.  Otherwise  they 
appear  to  remain  perfectly  quiet  until  they  reach  the  ground  and  escape 
from  their  aeronautic  threads. 

It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  more  than  mention  the  theory  of  Murray 
that  the  ballooning  ascents  of  spiders  are  caused  by  electricity.^  The  the- 
ory was  much  mooted  at  one  time,  and  had  some  w^orthy  names 
....  to  endorse   it.     It   is,  of  course,  not   impossible   that  a    material 

composed  of  silk,  as  is  the  spinningwork  of  spiders,  may  be  in- 
fluenced more  or  less,  and  in  one  way  or  another,  by  electricity.  But  as  the 
result  of  careful,  long  continued,  and  wide  observation  and  study  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  electricity  has  nothing  (or  next  to  nothing) 
to  do  with  the  ballooning  of  spiders,  and  that  the  ascending  and  moving 
currents  of  air  are  entirely  responsible  for  aeronautic  phenomena. 

There  appears  to  be  a  special  tendency  on  the  part  of  certain  species 
to  undertake  aeronautic  flight,  and  certain  species  appear  to  be  destitute  of 


^  Bulletin  des  Sciences  Naturelles,  October,  1829,  page  133.  ^  De  Araneis,  page  85. 

^  John  Murray  on  the  Aerial  Spider,  London  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  November, 
1828,  pages  320,  324. 


280  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the   power,   or   at  least  the  wish,  for   such   excursions.     Among  the   latter 

Black walP    ascertained    that  Tegenaria  civilis  and  Ciniflo  atrox   are  to   be 

reckoned ;    among  the  former,   the   most   skillful   balloonists   ob- 

Balloon-    ggj-yed  by  him  were  Thomisus  cristatus  and  Lycosa  saccata.  \The 

^^    ^^      largest  individuals  of  the  first  named  species  seen  to  take  aerial 
cies.  .    ^  .  .  ^ 

journeys  measured  one-sixth  inch  between  the  extreme  points  of 

the  head  and  abdomen,  one-tenth  inch  across  the  broadest  part  of  the  ab- 
domen, and  weighed  about  a  quarter  of  a  grain.  The  largest  individ- 
uals of  Lycosa  saccata  seen  floating  in  the  air  were  of  similar  weight  and 
dimensions.  / 

IX. 

Most  readers  of  general  and  theological  literature  possess  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  position  held  by  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards  as  a  philosopher.  His 
work  on  "  The  Will "  still  ranks  as  one  of  the  greatest  books 
Dr.  Jona-  written  by  an  American;  but  the  fact  that  Jonathan  Edwards  is 
,  entitled   to    a    place  among   the  pioneers  of  natural  history  has 

heretofore  been  limited  to  a  small  number  of  persons  specially 
interested  in  science.  To  that  little  band  it  gives  particular  pleasure  to 
note  the  recognition  of  that  fact  which  the  last  few  months  have  brought. 
In  the  first  volume  of  this  work  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  observations 
of  Master  Jonathan  Edwards  upon  spiders,  and  have  credited  him  with  an- 
ticipating by  at  least  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  some  of  the  most  inter- 
esting observations  which  I  have  made  and  published  under  the  supposition 
that  they  were  original  wath  myself.  ^ 

It  is  proper  at  this  point  to  call  attention  to  some  facts  in  the  aero- 
nautic habits  of  spiders  which  this  lad  made  known.  Dr.  Sereno  E. 
Dwight,  the  editor  of  the  "Life  and  Works  of  Jonathan  Edwards,"  appears 
to  have  been  the  first  to  publish  a  letter  written  by  him,  when  a  boy  of 
twelve  or  thirteen  years  old,  to  an  English  correspondent  of  his  father's, 
in  Avhich  letter  he  describes  what  he  has  seen  of  the  habits  of  "  flying 
spiders."  The  scientific  world  was  made  acquainted  with  the  matter  as 
early  as  1832  by  the  editor  of  "  Silliman's  Journal,"^  who  published  in  full 
the  above  named  letter  as  printed  by  Dr.  Dwight. 

The   January  number   of  the  "Andover  Review"  takes   up  this  subject 

anew,  and  in  a  valuable  paper*    Professor  Smyth  covers  the  whole  ground 

of  Edwards'  studies,  and  permits  us  to   look   into   the  operations 

ural'  t       ^^  ^^^  young  mind  while  pursuing  his  remarkable  observations 

and  experiments.     An  unpublished  manuscript  is  therein  edited, 

which  appears  to  have  been  the  original  record  of  the  boy's  studies,  from 

*  Researches  in  Zoology,  page  275.  ^  Volume  I.,  page  69. 

*  American  Journal  of  Sciences  and  Arts,  Vol.  XXII.,  1832,  pages  112,  113. 

*  "  The  Flying  Spider :  Observations  by  Jonathan  Edwards  when  a  Boy,"  Andover  Re- 
view, 1890,  Prof.  Egbert  C.  Smyth. 


THE    AERONAUTIC    OR    BALLOONING    HABIT. 


281 


which    record    the   letter   of   the   English   correspondent  was   probably  con- 
structed. 

Young  Edwards  appears  to  have  made  a  rude  division  of  various  tribes 
of  spiders,  which,  as  far  as  it  goes,  is  accurate,  at  least  sufficiently  so  for 
all  popular  purposes.  In  a  general  way  this  lad  as  early  as  A.  D.  1716 
had  hit  upon  the  foundation  principle  of  classification  of  the  distinguished 
naturalist  Latreille,  who,  just  a  century  later,  divided  spiders  into  seven 
groups,  based  upon  those  very  habits  which  young  Edwards  notes,  al- 
though, of  course,  with  more  careful  characterization.^ 

Edwards  had  found  that  on  a  dewy  morning  towards  the  end  of  Au- 
gust or  beginning  of  September  one  has  the  best  opportunity  to  study 
field  spider  webs.  He  had  further  discovered  that  spider  webs  which  are 
ordinarily  unobserved  may  readily  be  brought  into  view  by  putting  one's 
self  into  such  position  that  the  rays  of  the  sun  shall  fall 
upon  them  against  some  opaque  body. 

Once  more,  the  boy  naturalist  had  discovered  that  the  aero- 
nautic habit  of  spiders  is  closely  associated  with  those  bridge 
lines  which  are  continually  observed  in  summer  stretched  from 
tree  to  tree  across  roads,  between  fences,  and  in  like  position. 

Again,  he  appears  to  have  discovered  that  the  spider,  while 

engaged  in  casting   out   these  bridge  lines,  often  swings  itself 

in  a  little  basket  of  lines  held  between  the  bunched 

Swmgmg  £gg^      J  jiave  particularly  alluded  to  this  in  Volume 

g    ,    ,       I.,  page  69,  whdn  speaking  of  the  use  of  what  I  have 

called  the  swinging  foot  basket,  a 
habit  of  which  I  had  supposed  that  I  was  the 
original  discoverer.  The  drawing  in  Volume  I., 
Fig.  65,  was  taken  from  what  I  supposed  to  be 
an  accurate  fac  simile  in  "Silliman's  Journal;" 
but,  in  point  of  fact,  Edwards'  drawings,  as 
given  by  Professor  Smyth,  are  far  more  accu- 
rate than  those,  particularly  in  the  outline  of 
the  spider's  body  and  legs,  and  I  therefore  re- 
produce them  here,  after  the  drawings  in  the 
"Andover  Review." 

Again,  Edwards  defined  correctly  the  manner  in  which  the  spider's 
thread  is  formed.  He  could  make  no  studies  of  the  interior  structure 
of  the  animal.  It  was  reserved  for  the  age  of  the  microscope 
dicti  "  ^^  ^^  ^^^^'  ^^^  *^^^  ^^^  ^^  thirteen  years  old  reasoned  that  the 
spinning  stuff  must  be  contained  in  liquid  form  within  certain 
appropriate  organs  in  the  abdomen,  from  which  it  is  expressed,  escaping 
from  the   spinnerets  as  a  liquid,   and   immediately  hardening  by  contact 


Fig.  281.  Edwards' Ballooning  Spiders.  1, 
dropping  from  twig ;  2,  swinging  from 
line;  3,  sending  out  threads,  be;  4,  a, 
abandoned  thread  ;  c  b,  spider  in  flight. 


^  See  Cuvier's  "  Le  Regne  Animal,"  edition  1817,  Paris. 


282  AMEllICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


with  the  air.  I  quote  his  language  :  "  Seeing  that  the  web  while  it  is 
in  the  Spider,  is  a  certain  cloudy  liquor  with  which  that  Great  bottle 
tail  of  theirs  is  filld  which  immediately  upon  its  being  Exposed  to  the 
Air  turns  to  A  Dry  substance,  and  Exceedingly  Rarities  and  extends  it 
self "  .  .  .  .  "  Now  if  it  be  a  liquor  it  is  hard  to  Conceive  how  they 
should  let  out  a  fine  Even  thread  without  Expelling  a  little  Drop  at  the 
End  of  it  but  none  such  Can  be  Discerned,  but  there  is  no  need  of  this." 

Young  Edwards  also  perceived  that  the  spider  had  no  direction  of  its 
frail  aerial  vessel  after  it  had  once  embarked,  but  was  compelled  to  go 
at  the  will  of  the  wind,  and  to  disembark  and  settle  wherever  its  balloon 
might  find  an  entanglement.  He  correctly  discerned  and  explained  the 
theory  of  equilibrium  by  which  the  spider  navigates  the  air.  This  is 
his  explanation  :  "  If  there  be  not  web  more  than  enough  Just  to  Coun- 
terbalance the  gravity  of  the  Spider  the  spider  together  with  the  web 
will  hang  in  equilibrio  neither  ascending  nor  Descending  otherwise  than 
as  the  air  moves  but  if  there  is  so  much  web  that  its  Greater  Rarity  Shall 
more  than  Equal  the  Greater  Density  they  will  ascend  till  the  Air  is  so 
thin  that  the  Spider  and  web  together  are  Just  of  an  equal  weight  with 
so  much  air."  This  statement  substantially  expresses  the  opinion  of  all 
students  at  the  present  day.^ 

This  review  of  the  studies  in  natural  history  of  the  boy  Edwards  will 
suffice  to  justify  the  language  used  nearly  sixty  years  ago  by  Prof.  Ben- 
jamin Silliman,  one  of  the  most  eminent  of  America's  men  of 
.  .  ^  science :  "  The  observations  recorded  by*  him  present  a  very  curi- 
rp  -■,  .  ous  and  interesting  proof  of  philosophic  attention  in  a  boy  of 
twelve  years,  and  evince  that  the  rudiments  of  his  great  mind 
were  even  at  that  immature  age  more  than  beginning  to  be  developed." 
Even  with  the  more  perfect  light  of  the  present  there  will  be  found  few 
to  question  the  further  words  of  the  same  distinguished  authority,  that 
"  had  he  devoted  himself  to  physical  science,  he  might  have  added  another 
Newton  to  the  extraordinary  age  in  which  he  commenced  his  career ;  for 
his  star  was  just  rising  as  Newton's  was  going  down."^ 

^  See  a  paper  by  the  author  on  "  Jonathan  Edwards  as  a  Naturalist,"  in  Presbyterian  and 
Reformed  Review,  July,  1890. 

^  American  Journal  of  Sciences  and  Arts,  1832,  page  110. 


PART  IV -THE  SENSES  OF  SPIDERS  AND  THEIR 
RELATIONS  TO  HABIT. 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  SENSES  OF  SPIDERS,  AND  THEIR  ORGANS. 

I. 

A  spider's  eye  is  a  globose  object  or  capsule,  lined  internally  with  pig- 
ment and   having  the  outer  surface  transparent  and   convex,    constituting 
the  cornea  or  corneal  lens.     Behind  the  lens  is  the  optic  cham- 
P    ers     1^^^^  filled  with  a  semiliquid  and  lined  on  the  hinder  part  with 
the   retina,    which    receives    and    reverses   any   image,  as    in    the 
human  eye. 

The  eye  of  a  spider  corresponds  with  the  ocellus  of  insects,  and  speak- 
ing generally,  the  ocellus  may  be  regarded  as  consisting,  first,  of  a  lens, 
forming  part  of  the  general  body  covering ;  second,  of  a  layer  of  trans- 
parent cells;  third,  of  a  retina  or  second  layer  of  deeper  lying  cells,  each 
of  which  bears  a  rod  in  front,  while  their  inner  ends  pass  into  the  fila- 
ments of  the  optic  nerve;  fourth,  of  the  pigment.  From  the  convexity  of 
the  lens  it  would  have  a  short  focus,  and  the  comparatively  small  number 
of  rods  would  give  but  an  imperfect  image,  except  of  very  near  objects. 
Though  these  eyes  agree  so  far  with  ours,  there  is  an  essential  difference 
between  them.  It  will  at  once  be  seen  that  the  pigment  is  differently 
placed,  being  in  front  of  the  rods,  while  in  the  vertebrate  eye  it  is  behind 
them.  Again,  the  position  of  the  rods  themselves  is  reversed  in  the  two 
cases.  ^ 

In  details,  the  structure  of  fully  formed  ocelli  presents  many  differences; 
and  it  is  remarkable  that  in  some  species  this  is  the  case  even  with  the 
eyes  of  the  same  individual,  as  in  those  of  the  well  known  En- 
glish Orb  weaver,  Epeira  diademata.  (Fig.  282).  The  figure, 
which  is  taken  from  the  admirable  work  of  Grenacher,^  represents  a  section 
through  the  front  (A)  and  hinder  (B)  dorsal  eyes.  In  this  case  the  eye  B 
would  receive  more  light  and  the  image  therefore  would  be  brighter,  but  on 
the  other  hand  the  image  would  be  pictured  in  greater  detail  by  the  eye,  A. 

^  Sir  John  Lubbock,  "On  the  Senses,  Instincts,  and  Intelligence  of  Animals,"  page  147. 
^  H.  Grenacher,  "  Untersuchungen  iiber  das  Sehorgan  der  Arthropoden,"  Gdttingen,  1879. 
I  have  made  the  cut  from  Lubbock's  book. 

(283) 


284 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Structure 
of  Eyes. 


cfc'  «■ 


Fig.  283  is  a  drawing  of  a  section  through  an  anterior  median  eye  of 
Agalena  nsevia  eight  days  after  hatching  multiplied  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  times.  The  retinal  portion  has  not  reached  its  full  development,  but 
on  the  whole  in  this  stage  the  essential  features  of  the  eye  are  established.^ 
It  will  be  seen  that  in  this  species,  according  to  Locy,  the  eye  consists, 
first,  of  the  lens,  which  a  few  days  after  hatching  assumes  the  form  of  the 
cuticular  lens  of  the  adult ;  second,  the  vitreous  body,  which  is  the 
magnified  portion  of  the  hypodermis,  with  which  it  has  never 
ceased  to  be  continuous;  third,  of  the  hypodermis;  and,  finally,  of 
the  retina,  consisting  of  the  first  or  inverted  layer  of  optic  invagination, 
and  the  second  or  non  inverted  layer  of  optic  invagination. 

Speaking  roughly,  the  eyes  of  spiders  and  ocelli  of  insects  may  be  said 
to  see  as  our   eyes  do  ;    that  is  to   say,  the   lens   throws   on  the   retina  an 

image,  which  is  per- 
ceived by  the  fine 
terminations  of  the 
optic  nerve. 

From  the  nature 
of  the  external  in- 
tegument, the  eyes  of 
spiders  would  seem 
to  be  fixed  in  one  di- 
rection. Yet  micro- 
scopic examination 
of  them  when  alive 
appeared  to  satisfy 
Mr.  Campbell  2  that 
spiders  not  only  have 
an  adjusting  power 
over  the  lenses,  but 
that  they  also  can  move  the  eye  itself  within  the  cavity  covered  by  the 
transparent  cuticle.  This  appeared  to  the  author  to  be  the  only  way  to 
account  for  the  frequent  changes  of  color,  as  well  as  of  the  form  and  posi- 
tion of  the  color,  which  take  place  in  spiders'  eyes,  and  which  resemble 
that  of  a  moving  liquid  globule.     This  opinion  seems  to  me  unfounded. 


Ct.  Up. 


Fig.  282.  Long  section  through  the  front  (A)  and  hinder  (B)  dorsal  eyes  of 
Epeira  diademata.  (After  Qrenacher.)  A,  anterior  eye ;  B,  posterior  eye ; 
Hp,  hypoderm  ;  Ct,  cuticle ;  ct,  boundary  membrane ;  K,  nuclei  of  the  cells 
of  the  retina;  M,  muscular  fibres;  M,  M',  cross  sections  of  ditto;  St,  rods; 
Pg,  P^,  pigment  cells ;  L,  lens ;  Gk,  vitreous  body  ;  Kt,  crystalline  cones ; 
Rt,  retina ;  Nop,  optic  nerve. 


II. 

How  far  Orbweavers  may  be  guided  by  sight  in  making  their  webs, 
and  how  far  by  touch,  is  an  open  question.  The  organs  of  sight  do  not 
seem  to  be  as  highly  organized  in  these  and  other  Sedentary  spiders  as 
in  the  Wanderers. 


^  AVilliam  A.  Locy,  Observations  on  the  Development  of  Agalena  nsevia,  Bulletin  Mus. 
Compar.  Zool.  Harv.  Coll.,  Vol.  XII.,  No.  3,  plate  x.,  Fig.  69. 
2  Observations  on  Spiders,  page  42. 


THE    SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS. 


285 


Professor  Wilder,  when  studying  the  habits  of  Nephila  plumipes,^  came 
to  the  conclusion   that  spiders  of  that  species  cannot  see  anything   at  all, 

whether  near  or  remote.  I  do  not  accept  the  conclusion,  but 
ofVision  ^^^^  ^°'^®  ^^^^^  °^^  which  it  was  based.  The  spiders  paid  no  at- 
"  tention  to  an  object  put  close  to  them,  nor  to  the  quiet  movements 
of  any  one  about  them.  An  individual  would  often  rush  by  an  insect  en- 
tangled in  her  net,  if  it  chanced  to  cease  its  struggles  before  she  had  accu- 
rately determined  its  position;  she  would  then  slowly  return  to  the  centre 
of  the  web,  and  wait  until  another  vibration  indicated  the  whereabouts 
of  the  insect.  A  fly  offered  upon  the  point  of  a  needle  would  not  be  no- 
ticed until  it  began  to  buzz,  when  it  would  be  seized  at  once.  Nephila, 
however,  always  prefers  the  light,  and  constructs  her  large  orbs  where  the 
sun  can  reach  them.  The  young  mani- 
fest the  same  instinct,  and  in  confine- 
ment seek  the  sunny  side  of  a  glass 
vessel. 

In   order   to   test  the   ability   of    the 
Furrow   spider   to    work    upon   her   web 

w^ithout   the    aid   of    daylight, 
Orbs  J  secluded  one  within  a  large 

the  Dark    ^^^^  ^'^th  a  sliding  glass  door. 

She    soon     spun     an     orb  web 
across  the  cell  as  close  to  the  glass  door  ^.^^ 

and   as  far   toward   the  light  as   could  well      Fig.  283.    sagittal  section  through  an  anterior 
be.       Fortunately   not   a   line    of    the    snare         median  eye,  eight  days  after  hatching;  the 

was  attached  to  the  glass  itself,  so  that 

I  could  draw  it  back  and  forth  at  will. 

I   next  cut  away   the   lower  foundation 

line,  broke  up  the   entire   lower  part  of 

the   web,   and    the  box  was  then   completely    darkened.     Next   day,    when 

the    covers    and    screens    were    removed,   the    web    was    found    thoroughly 

mended,  every  part    being   so    neatly  and    accurately  repaired  that   it    was 

scarcely  possible  to   determine  which   was   the   patchwork   and    which   the 

original   snare.      Even  if   we  admit  that  some  particle  of   light  may  have 

entered  the  cell,  the  sense  of  touch  in  this  case  must  have  been  the  chief 

reliance. 

In  other  experiments  the  spider's  sight,  in  so  far  as  that  sense  can  be 

apprehended  by  human  experience,  could  have  had  no  part  in 
Cocoon-  directing  her  work.  I  have  repeatedly  confined  female  Orbweav- 
,,     n    k   ^^^'  Epeira   strix,  sclopetaria,  insularis,  domiciliorum,  and  triara- 

nea,  Acrosoma  rugosa,  and  others,  in  paper  boxes  absolutely  im- 
pervious to  light,  and  opening  them  the  next  day  have  found  eggs  deposited 


retinal  portion  has  not  yet  reached  its  full 
development.  X  about  350.  Ins,  lens ;  vit, 
"  vitreous  body  ;"  eta,  cuticula  ;  hd,  hypoder- 
mis ;  rtn',  first  (inverted)  layer  of  optic  invag- 
ination ;  rtn",  second  (non  inverted)  layer. 
(After  Locy.) 


*  Proceed.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  X.,  page  208. 


286  AMERICAN.  SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

upon  the  inside,  sealed,  covered,  and  swathed  within  the  characteristic  co- 
coon, and  all  done  as  accurately  as  though  the  creature  had  wrought  under 
the  most  satisfactory  conditions.  Readers  who  have  followed  the  methods 
of  cocoon  weaving  as  detailed  in  the  preceding  chapters  will  be  able  to 
appreciate  the  acuteness  and  accuracy  of  that  sense  of  touch,  and  what- 
ever other  faculty  may  be  associated  therewith,  by  which  such  an  in- 
dustry was  wrought,  and  share  the  wonder  that  it  could  have  been 
done  in  total  darkness.  Like  facts  are  true  of  other  tribes  than  Orbweav- 
ers,  particularly  Tubeweavers  and  Saltigrades,  with  which  I  have  experi- 
mented. 

The  fact  that  spiders  are  able  to  spin  their  cocoons  not  only  in  the 
dark,  but  without  apparent  organs  of  vision,  is  demonstrated  by  the  case 
of  the  well  known  cave  spider,  Anthrobia  mammouthia.  Professor  Pack- 
ard found  this  species  in  Mammoth  Cave,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to 
collect  a  cocoon  belonging  to  it.  This,  of  course,  shows  that  the  delicate 
work  required  in  constructing  this  object  can  be  wrought  by  touch  alone. 
So  also  the  cavern  Linyphians,  although  having  eyes,  dwell  in  total  dark- 
ness and  weave  snares  and  cocoons. 

I  have  often  found  the  peculiar  tubular  nest  of  the  Saltigrades  spun 
within  boxes  in  which  they  had  been  captured.  These  spiders  have,  per- 
haps, the  most  perfect  organs  of  vision  of  any  of  the  order.  Yet 
big  mg  ^j^^y  ^^^  ^^lg  ^^  ^^  quite  as  good  weaving  in  the  dark  as  in  the 
light.  No  one  who  has  watched  them  stalking  prey  during  the 
day  could  well  fail  to  conclude  that  they  are  guided  by  a  tolerably  accu- 
rate sense  of  sight.  Their  rapid  and  marked  change  of  manner  when 
prey  is  "sighted,"  the  mode  of  approach,  like  the  action  of  a  cat  creep- 
ing upon  a  bird,  the  peculiar  behavior  displayed  when  the  final  spring 
is  made,  are  not  to  be  accounted  for  on  any  theory  other  than  a  keen 
sense  of  sight.  So  also  with  Citigrades.  I  have  seen  young  Dolomedes 
sexpunctatus  leap  from  the  side  of  a  box  and  catoh  a  fly  "  on  the  wing," 
and  return  to  its  perch  by  the  rebound  of  its  dragline.  Such  an  act  not 
only  shows  ability  to  see,  but  also  some  faculty  to  estimate  distance,  unless 
we  suppose  it  to  have  been  a  chance  shot. 

In  Laterigrades  similar  action  may  be  observed.  Like  Saltigrades,  they 
are  arboreal  in  their  habits,  and  crouch  for  prey  and  steal  upon  it.  One 
of  our  largest  indigenous  Laterigrades,  the  Huntsman  spider  (Heterapoda 
venatoria),  received  from  Florida  and  kept'  in  captivity,  permitted  a  large 
fly  placed  in  her  cell  to  run  between  the  legs,  fly  into  the  face,  alight  on 
the  back,  without  any  attempt  to  capture  it.  In  the  course  of  time,  how- 
ever, the  fly  lit  on  the  side  of  the  box  a  short  distance  in  advance  of  the 
Huntsman.  She  perceived  it,  crouched,  slowly  moved  her  limbs,  stealthily 
and  by  almost  imperceptible  advances  approached,  then  swiftly  shot  forth 
her  claws  and  secured  her  victim.  The  behavior  was  quite  similar  to  that 
shown  under  kindred  conditions  by  animals  with  well  organized  sight. 


THE    SENSES   AND    THEIR   ORGANS.  287 

Rev.  Mr.  Pickard-Cambridge  ^  records  that  he  has  more  than  once  seen 
an  Enghsh  Orbweaver,  Meta  segmentata,  drop  from  her  web  upon  an  insect 
which  it  had  espied  on  the  ground  a  little  way  below  it,  and  ascend  again 
with  its  prize  by  means  of  the  line  drawn  from  its  spinnerets  in  the  de- 
scent. This  is  certainly  a  remarkable  degree  of  keensightedness  for  an 
Orbweaver,  one,  by  the  way,  that  habitually  affects  a  shadowed  habitation. 
Many  species  of  Orbweavers  are  found  upon  their  snares  during  day- 
time  in    normal    posture  for   capturing   prey.     They   seem    to   have  little 

cessation  of  activity  in  the  hours  of  light,  nor  does  there  appear 
T,^^.,         to  be  special  increase  of  activity  during  evening.     Other  species, 

as  the  Furrow  spider,  quite  habitually  exclude  themselves  from 
the  orb  during  the  day  and  hide  in  the  vicinity  until  the  approach  of 
evening,  when  they  come  forth  and  take  position  at  the  hub  of  the  orb. 
With  most  species  this  is  the  time  when  such  work  will  be  done.  As  the 
light  begins  to  diminish  over  the  landscape  an  increased  activity  may  be 
observed  throughout  a  large  part  of  spider  world,  and  everywhere  indi- 
viduals may  be  seen  flying  tentative  filaments,  restlessly  pioneering  the 
neighboring  shrubbery,  running  foundation  lines,  weaving  webs,  swathing, 
trussing,  eating  insects.  Something  of  the  same  sort  may  be  seen  in  the 
early  morning,  when  snares  broken  by  the  night's  work  are  renewed  or 
replaced. 

III. 

I  am  not  prepared,  as  yet,  to  say  whetlrer  a  comparison  of  the  species 
which  show  morning  activity  with  those  which  display  activity  at  night 
would  justify  a  separation  into  nocturnal  and  diurnal  spiders.  Certainly 
the  line  w^ould  not  be  a  rigid  one ;  but  there  is  some  ground  to  suppose 
that  there  are  occasional  tendencies  to  this  side  or  that,  more  or  less  de- 
cided. There  is  probably  a  difference  in  this  respect  among  the  several 
eyes  of  any  one  spider ;  some  are  undoubtedly  organized  to  re- 
L/o  or  o  ceive  more  light  than  others,  while  some  receive  the  image  pict- 
ured in  greater  detail.  (Fig.  282.)  We  may  therefore  attribute 
different  powers  of  vision  to  the  different  eyes.  The  eyes  of  spiders  vary 
both  in  shape  and  color  in  the  same  individual.  Some  are  pearly  white; 
others  yellowish,  amber,  dark  gray,  or  black.  Some  Saltigrades  have  eyes 
that  shine  like  precious  stones,  reflecting  various  brilliant  hues,  as  the 
emerald,  the  amethyst,  the  opal — which  may  be  due,  in  part  at  least,  to 
reflection  from  the  brilliantly  colored  mandibles.  These  hues,  according 
to  M.  Simon,  indicate  different  powers  of  vision  and  qualities  of  service. 
Quoting  favorably  a  remark  of  Dr.  Vinson,  he  would  divide  a  spider's 
eyes    into    "diurnal"   and    "nocturnal."      The    diurnal    eyes    are   brilliant, 


1  Spiders  of  Dorset,  Vol.  II.,  page  241. 


288  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

transparent,  and  seem  to  have  a  pupil  and  iris ;  the  nocturnal  are,  on  the 
contrary,  dull  and  opaque.^ 

Lebert  expresses  the  same  opinion,  ^  adding  further  that  those  which  are 
most  convex  and  brightly  colored,  serve  to  see  during  daylight,  and  the 
others,  which  are  flatter  and  colorless,  serve  during  the  dusk.  It  occurred 
to  me  to  test  this  theory  by  making  such  division  on  the  basis  of  habit, 
as  above  referred  to,  and  observe  whether  the  spiders  which  incline  to 
nocturnal  habits  have  the  nocturnal  or  white  eyes,  and  vice  versa.  Such 
a  comparison,  extended  to  a  few  species,  shows  the  following  results : — 

Among  our  indigenous  Orbweavers,  those  whose  night  habits  are  most 

pronounced,  or  whose  ordinary  habitat  is  dark  or  shaded  places,  proved  to 

have  light  colored  eyes.     For  example,  I  rarely  find  Epeira  strix 

Night         upon  her  web  in  daytime ;    she  comes   out  for   prey  in  the  early 

,  _.  evening  or  twilight,  and  remains  quite  persistently  throughout 
Eyes  ^^®  ^^y  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^  curled    leaf   or   in    some  convenient  den. 

The  eyes  of  this  species  have  the  entire  rear  row  and  the  side 
eyes  of  the  front  row  a  light  gray  color.  The  middle  front  eyes  are  of  the 
same  color,  but  a  darker  shade.  Meta  menardii,  which  persistently  inhab- 
its shaded  places,  and  which  I  have  found  in  caves  in  central  Pennsylva- 
nia, has  all  its  eyes  a  light  pearl  or  gray  color.  The  specimens  of  this 
species  examined  were  found  in  Sinking  Spring  Cave  quite  distant  from 
the  mouth.  The  Ray  spider  I  have  always  found  in  ravines  or  well  shaded 
spots  under  the  cover  of  ledges  or  foliage.  Its  eyes  are  all  a  light  pearl, 
the  middle  front  eyes  having  a  little  darker  shade. 

Turning  to  other  tribes  I  found,  for  example,  that  the  Medicinal  spider 
(Tegenaria  medicinalis)  has  all  its  eyes  yellow,  with  the  exception  of  the 
small  midfront  pair,  which  are  dark  with  a  marginal  ring  of  light  color. 
Its  dwelling  place  is  habitually  cellars  and  dark  corners.  I  have  often 
found  it  living  quite  in  the  shade. 

Clubiona  palens,  which  lives  within  a  silken  tube  and  is  frequently 
found  underneath  stones,  has  pearly  white  eyes,  the  middle  front  being  a 
slightly  darker  shade.  The  eyes  of  Agalena  nsevia  are  all  a  uniform  bril- 
liant yellow  (amber),  rather  darker  than  Tegenaria  medicinalis.  This  spi- 
der inhabits  a  tube  which  expands  into  a  sheeted  web.  She  keeps  habit- 
ually on  guard  within  the  mouth  of  her  tube,  but  sallies  forth  at  all  hours 
of  the  day  after  the  prey  which  drops  or  alights  upon  her  web.  She  evi- 
dently possesses  good  day  sight.  So  far,  therefore,  one  might  say  that  the 
conjecture  that  the  white  eyes  are  used  for  seeing  in  the  dark,  are  nocturnal 
eyes,  in  fact,  is  corroborated. 

But  a  further  examination  introduces  facts  which  are  in  serious  conflict 
with  the  theory.     For  example,  Argiope  cophinaria  lives  persistently  in  the 

^  Simon,  Histoire  Naturelle  des  Araignees,  page  35. 

2  Die  Spinnen  der  Schweiz,  page  6,  quoted  by  Lubbock,  "On  Ants,  Bees,  and  Wasps," 
Linn.  Soc.  Jour.,  Vol.  XX.,  125. 


1        1_/-A    I     1_         IV 


COLORS   OF    SPIDERS   AND   THEIR    COCOONS. 
1,  Argiope  cophinaria;  2,  Epeira  insularis;  3,  Epeira  domiciliorum;  4,  5,  6,  Cocoons  and  female 
OF  argiope  argenteola;  14,  Male  of  same;  15,  Male  abdomen;  7,  8,  Cocoon  and  female  of 
Gasteracantha;  9,  Natural  size  of  female;  10,  Cocoon  string  of  Cyclosa  bifurca;  11,  Female, 

SIDE  view,  enlarged;  12,  DORSAL  VIEW,  ENLARGED;  13,  NATURAL  SIZE. 


Auth-Del.  mpart- 


Edw.  Sheropara,ljitli.&:  Del. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  289 

light.  I  have  always  found  it  hanging  on  the  central  shield  of  its  web  in 
broad  daylight  and  at  all  hours  of  the  day.  Its  eyes  are  a  light  yellow 
color.  The  same  is  true  of  Argiope  argyraspis.  Acrosoma  rugosa  I  have 
always  found  upon  its  web  in  daytime.  This  is  a  wood  loving  species,  but 
commonly  spins  its  web  in  open  places.  Its  eyes  are  light  gray,  the  mid- 
dle front  pair  having  a  little  darker  shade.  Epeira  labyrinthea  is  also  a 
diurnal  spider,  selecting,  as  a  rule,  a  position  upon  branches  stripped  of 
foliage  or  dead  limbs.  Its  rear  eyes  are  light  colored,  pearl  gray  or  a  del- 
icate amber,  but  those  of  the  front  row  are  black.  Epeira  insularis  habit- 
ually occupies  its  nest  of  sewed  leaves  during  the  daytime  and  often  at 
niglit  also,  but  it  takes  prey  quite  freely  during  all  hours  of  the  day.  Its 
eyes  are  all  light  colored.  Two  gravid  specimens  of  this  species  which  I 
examined  had  eyes  decidedly  lighter  than  other  specimens,  and  the  ques- 
tion occurred  to  me  whether  it  might  not  be  that  the  color  of  the  eyes  is 
affected  during  the  period  of  gestation.  I  had  not  sufficient  specimens, 
however,  to  follow  this  inquiry,  which,  perhaps,  is  not  worthy  of  further 
attention. 

The  eyes  of  Linyphia  weyerii,  which  I  have  examined  from  several 
specimens  received  from  Luray  Cave,  are  of  light  color,  the  two  central 
eyes  being  white.  The  latter  is  a  marked  variation  from  the  general  con- 
dition of  this  pair  of  eyes,  which  appear  to  be  darker,  as  a  rule,  in  all 
terrestial  species,  and  to  be  obliterated  in  some  cavern  fauna. 

I  submitted  a  few  European  species  to  a  similar  examination.^    Tetrag- 

natha  extensa  (Russia)  has  the  side  eyes  a   yellowish  brown,  the   side   rear 

eyes  of   lighter  hue  than  the   side  front.     The  midrear  eyes   are 

uropean  ^^j.]^   yellow,  and   the  midfront  eyes   are   darkest  of  all.     Epeira 

sclopetaria  (Ireland)  has  the  side  eyes  light  colored,  the  rear  eyes 

being  lightest.     The   midrear   eyes  are  a  dark    yellow,  and   the   midfront 

darkest  of  all.     Epeira   sclopetaria  of   Russia  is  colored   in  the  same  way. 

Epeira  quadrata  (Russia)  has  the  side  rear  eyes  light  colored,  the  side  front 

eyes  a  little   darker  hue,  and   the   front  eyes  tolerably  dark.     Epeira  dia- 

demata  (Russia)  has  the  rear  eyes  brownish  yellow,  the  front  eyes  a  darker 

hue  of  yellow,  and  the  front  side  eyes  a  darker  yellow,  and  the  midfront 

eyes  darkest  of  all,  almost  black. 

None  of  the  above  species  can  be  classified  as  nocturnal  in  their  habits, 
although  all  of  them,  of  course,  are  able  to  capture  prey  at  night.  Tet- 
ragnatha  extensa  and  Epeira  sclopetaria  are  continually  seen  upon  their 
webs  in  broad  daylight.  Epeira  quadrata  and  Epeira  diademata  belong  to 
nesting  species,  having  habits  similar  to  our  Epeira  insularis  and  trifolium. 
They  live  "in  dome  shaped  tents,  roofed  and  walled  by  clustered  leaves  or 
by  a  single  rolled  leaf.     Their  faces  are  towards  the  opening,  looking  upon 

^  The  Russian  species  were  received  from  Mr.  Waldemar  Wagner,  of  Moscow,  and  the 
British  species  were  collected  partly  by  myself  and  partly  by  Mr.  Thomas  Workman,  of 
Belfast. 


290  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


their  webs,  whicli  are  usually  spun  in  well  illumined  places.  They  may 
be  regarded  as  diurnal  in  their  habits  quite  as  much  as  nocturnal. 

Of  Epeira  cornuta  I  examined  specimens  from  Moscow  (Russia)  and 
Ireland.  The  side  eyes  are  an  amber  yellow  of  a  rather  dark  hue.  The 
middle  eyes  are  still  darker;  the  midfront  ones  the  darkest  of  all.  The 
side  rear  eyes  have  the  lightest  hue.  This  species  resembles  our  Epeira 
strix  in  its  habits,  and  is  much  inclined  to  live  in  dark  places,  and  for 
the  most  part  retires  to  its  cell  or  den,  or  some  secluded  retreat,  during  the 
day,  showing  its  greatest  activity  at  night.  It  is  not  exclusively  a  nocturnal 
species,  but  approaches  nearly  that  habit. 

Of  Epeira  umbratica  I  examined  two  species  captured  by  me  upon  the 
outer  basaltic  columns  of  Fingal's  Cave  and  one  from  England.  The  side 
eyes  are  amber  yellow,  of  a  darkish  hue.  The  midrear  eyes 
Epeira  have  a  little  darker  color,  and  the  midfront  darker  still.  In 
um  ra-  ^j^^  English  specimens  the  colors  were  similar,  but  a  little  darker, 
the  midrear  eyes  being  quite  dark  and  the  midfront  almost 
black.  This  species,  as  is  well  known,  is  nearest  a  nocturnal  species  of  all 
the  Orbweavers  of  Europe.  It  quite  frequently  seeks  shaded  places,  although 
this  is  not  its  exclusive  habit.  The  webs  of  the  Fingal's  Cave  spiders  were 
exposed  to  the  light,  although  the  individuals  were  hidden  within  a  little 
recess  of  the  rock.  I  have  seen  numbers  of  the  webs  of  these  species  on 
the  grounds  of  Tatton  Hall,  near  Manchester,  the  estate  of  Lord  Edgerton, 
swung  between  the  railings  of  a  rustic  bridge,  shaded  only  by  foliage. 

These  two  spiders  present  the  strongest  testimony  in  contradiction  of 
the  theory  that  the  white  eyes  are  most  useful  to  those  species  that  are 
nocturnal  in  habit.  Judging  by  their  habits,  their  eyes  should  have  been 
the  lightest  of  any  Orbweavers  of  Europe,  but  the  contrary  appears  to  be 
the  case.  I  am  not  able  to  solve  such  contradictory  facts.  Quite  at  the 
opposite  extreme,  and  in  line  with  the  general  tendency,  are  the  eyes  of 
cavern  fauna.  The  eyes  of  Linyphia  weyerii,  which  I  have  examined  from 
several  specimens  received  from  Luray  Cave,  are  all  light  colored,  the  two 
central  eyes  being  white. 

The  above  facts  appear  to  point  to  the  conclusion  that  eyes  of  a  light 
color  are  better  suited  for  seeing  in  the  dark,  but  that  dark  colored  eyes 
are  not  necessarily  especially  valuable  to  the  species  having  diurnal  habits. 
In  short,  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a  corresponding  difference  between 
the  nocturnal  and  diurnal  habits  of  spiders,  and  the  supposed  nocturnal 
and  diurnal  eyes,  sufficiently  marked  to  justify  a  division  on  that  basis. 

An   examination   of  the  above  facts   also  shows  that  there   is   a   quite 

persistent  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  side  eyes  to  be  lighter  in 

Most  color  than  the  middle  eyes;  and,  of  the  side  eyes,  the  rear  ones 

Eves  ^^^    generally    the    brightest.      It   also    appears  that   the   middle 

group  of  eyes  tend  to  be  darker  colored,  and,  of  these,  the  front 

pair  are  darkest  of  all. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS. 


291 


On  the  theory  that  the  dark  colored  eyes  are  of  the  greatest  advan- 
tage in  the  hght,  and  the  light  colored  eyes  most  valuable  in  the  dark, 
one  would  expect  that  in  the  case  of  cave  species  the  eyes  first  to  disap- 
pear would  be  the  middle  ones,  and  those  longest  to  persist  the  side  ones; 
the  rear  eyes  longest  of  all.  I  was  anxious  to  test  this  theory,  but  unfor- 
tunately had  but  a  scant  amount  of  material  to  do  it.  However,  the  few 
facts  at  hand  are  valuable  for  comparison,  and  are  quite  in  harmony  with 
the  above  inference. 

Pavesi  has  observed  ^  that  while  the  species  of  Nesticus  possess  nor- 
mally eight  eyes,  in  a  cave  dwelling  species,  Nesticus  speluncarum,  there 
are  only  four,  the  four  middle  eyes  being  atrophied.  This  suggests  that 
the  four  central  eyes  serve  especially  in  daylight. 

The  above  observation  of  Pavesi  corresponds  substantially  with  Emer- 
ton's  studies  of  the  spider  fauna  of  some  of  the  large  caverns  of  America.  ^ 
Out  of  six  species  of  Lineweavers  described,  five 
show  some  unusual  condition  of  the  eyes.  Three 
species  have  the  front  middle  pair  very  small ; 
one  has  all  the  eyes  small  and  colorless,  with  the 
front  middle  pair  wanting  in  the  males  and  some 
females ;  and  one  species  is  entirely  without  eyes. 
The  complete  obliteration  of  all  the  front  middle 
pair  in  some  specimens,  and  the  partial  atrophy 
of  the  same  eyes  in  others,  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  organs  so  situated  are  of  most  ben- 
efit in  full  sunlight,  or,  at  all  events,  that  sun- 
light is  more  necessary  to  their  preservation  than 
the  others. 

Several  figures  are  here  presented,  made  from 
Emerton's  drawings,^  which  will  illustrate  the  progressive  atrophy  of  the 
eyes  in  the  case  of  some  of  the  spider  fauna  of  the  caverns  of  Kentucky 
and  Virginia.  Fig.  286  shows  the  face  of  a  female  Anthrobia  mam- 
mouthia,  from  which  the  eyes  have  been  entirely  obliterated.  Fig.  285  is 
a  drawing  of  the  eyes  of  a  female  Linyphia  inserta  from  Fountain  Cave. 
Here  the  middle  eyes  of  the  front  row  are  extremel}^  small,  but,  neverthe- 
less, are  quite  manifest.  In  contrast  with  this  is  Fig.  284,  which  repre- 
sents the  head  and  mandibles  of  a  male  of  the  same  species  (Linyphia 
inserta),  from  which  the  middle  front  eyes  have  entirely  disappeared.  The 
absence  of  this  or  any  pair  of  eyes,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  is  in 
no  case  a  sexual  characteristic,  so  that  the  disappearance  of  these  eyes,  if 
we  suppose  the  figures  to  have  been  drawn  correctly,  can  only  be  attributed 


Fig.  284. 


Fig.  286. 


Fig.  284.  Face  of  Linyphia  inserta, 
with  two  eyes  wanting.  Fig.  285. 
Eyes  of  another  individual,  same 
species,  all  present.  Fig.  286. 
Face  of  Anthrobia  mammouthi, 
with  eyes  atrophied. 


^  Sopra  una  nuova  specie  de  Ragni  appartenente  alle  collezioni  dei  Museo  Civico  di 
Geneva,  Ann.  Mas.  Civ.,  1873,  page  344. 

^  Notes  on  Spiders  from  Caves,  Am.  Naturalist,  Vol.  IX.,  page  278. 
=*  Op.  eit.,  plate  i.,  Figs.  5,  18,  21. 


292  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


to  the  gradual  progress  of  the  atrophy,  or  to  one  of  those  natural  freaks 
which  occasionally  occur  with  spiders  as  well  as  other  living  things. 

Occasional  irregularities  in  the  number  of  eyes  are  not  wholly  due  to 
causes  which  produce  the  atrophy  of  those  organs.  For  example,  Black- 
wall  ^  records  that  an  adult  female  Epeira  inclinata  captured  in  August 
was  entirely  destitute  of  the  left  intermediate  eye  of  the  posterior  row,  % 
and  the  right  intermediate  eye  of  the  same  row  was  not  the  usual  size. 
In  another  adult  female  taken  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  the  right 
intermediate  eye  of  the  posterior  row  had  not  one-eighth  of  the  usual  size, 
being  merely  rudimentary.  This  spider  abounds  in  many  parts  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  seems  to  prefer  districts  which  are  well  wooded, 
but  otherwise  has  no  habits  which  would  account  for  such  irregularities. 
It  is  simply  an  abnormal  state  of  the  eyes,  resulting  from  some  morbid 
condition. 

Concerning  Linyphia  inserta,  drawings  of  whose  eyes  are  shown  at  Figs. 
284  and  285,  Emerton  says  that  the  eyes  are  small  and  colorless  and  sep- 
arated from  each  other.  The  front  middle  pair  are  very  small,  hardly 
larger  than  the  circles  around  the  base  of  the  hair  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded, and  only  distinguished  from  them  by  wanting  the  dark  ring 
which  surrounds  the  hair  circles.  In  five  females  from  Fountain  Cave  all 
the  eyes  are  present.  (Fig.  285.)  In  one  female  one  eye  of  the  front  mid- 
dle pair  is  wanting.  In  three  males  from  the  same  cave  both  front  middle 
eyes  are  wanting,  as  in  Fig.  284.  In  one  male  only  one  of  the  front  mid- 
dle pair  is  wanting.  In  four  females  and  one  male  from  Bat  Cave,  Carter 
County,  Kentucky,  the  front  middle  eyes  are  wanting. ^  This  irregularity 
in  the  number  of  the  eyes  indicates  with  little  doubt  the  fact  that  the  in- 
fluence of  environment  has  been  strongly  felt  in  producing  a  greater  or  less 
atrophy  of  these  organs  of  sight. 

IV. 

That  spiders  have  accurate  perception  of  the  direction  and  intensity  of 
light,  one  may  easily  determine  by  experiments  with  the  young.  A  great 
number  of  such  experiments  I  have  made,  but  will  content  myself  with 
an  illustration  or  two  which  fully  typify  the  universal  tendency.  A  brood 
of  young  Zillas  heretofore  described  (Volume  I.,  page  143)  habitually 
placed  themselves  upon  the  illuminated  side  of  their  common 
to  Liffht  ^^^*  '^^^^  position  during  the  day  looked  toward  a  bay  win- 
dow a  few  feet  from  the  table  on  which  the  colony  was  settled, 
and  at  night  was  on  the  opposite  side  and  toward  the  lamp  on  my  desk. 
In  the  morning,  if  the  day  were  bright  so  that  the  sunlight  streamed  in 
at  the  bay  window,  the  colony  invariably  migrated  to  that  side.  If  the 
day  were  dull,  inasmuch  as  a  side  window  shed  some  light  over  the  table, 

1  Spiders  Gt.  Bt.  &  Ir.,  page  355.  ^  Op.  cit.,  page  280. 


THE    SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS. 


293 


the  movement  was  not  so  decided.  At  night  the  direction  was  reversed, 
and  the  migration  set  toward  the  library  lights,  and  the  colony  settled  as 
near  them  as  possible. 

This  behavior  was  so  often  and  uniformly  observed  that  the  conclu- 
sion was  quite  satisfactory,  but  I  nevertheless  made  a  series  of  experi- 
ments which  fully  confirmed  it.  For  example,  one  evening  I  found  the 
brood  massed  at  two  points  (a  and  b.  Fig.  287)  on  either  side  of  a  toy 
wooden  column,  hanging  in  a  dim  light  which  fell  from  a  lamp  that 
previously  had  been,  turned  down.  An  oil  lamp  giving  a  bright  light 
was  now  lit,  and  so  placed  (beyond  the  point  c)  that  one  cluster  (at  a) 
was  in  shadow,  the  other  (at  b)  faintly  illuminated.  In  twenty  minutes 
twelve  individuals  had  passed  over  from  the  partly  shaded  spot  (b)  to 
the  illuminated  point  (c),  and  about  half  the  group  in  the  shadow  (at  a) 


Fig.  287.    Experiment  to  show  the  perception  of  light  by  young  spiders.    The  group  in  shade  were  all 
transferred  to  the  shelf  by  lighting  the  lamp  thereon. 

had  crossed  to  the  better  light  at  b.  The  lamp  was  then  removed  to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  reversing  the  conditions  of  light,  casting  c 
in  the  shadow,  b  partly  in  the  shade,  and  throwing  full  light  upon  a. 
Instantly  a  movement  began  among  the  spiders  now  in  the  dark  at  c, 
who  turned  and  ran  rapidly  along  the  lines  communicating  with  the  col- 
umn. In  less  than  two  minutes  only  four  of  the  twelve  remained ;  one  of 
these  soon  followed,  and  shortly  the  other  three.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
shaded  group  at  b  was  being  broken  up  by  an  active  transfer  to  the  illu- 
minated section  at  a. 

Another  experiment  gave  the  following  results :  I  captured  a  female 
Epeira  sclopetaria  at  Atlantic  City  and  placed  her  within  a  box  to  cocoon. 
May  26th,  a  cocoon  was  formed  in  the  angle  of  the  box,  over  which  was 
placed  a  triangular  piece  of  sheeted  spinning  work  attached  at  the  three 


294 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


margins  to  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  box,  (Fig.  288.)  This  formed  the 
cocoon  tent,  wliose  dimensions  were  two  inches  on  the  floor  and  along  the 
sides.  June  13th,  a  small  cluster  of  yellowish  white  spiderlings  appeared 
at  the  bottom  of  the  cocoon,  showing  that  the  young  had  already  hatched 
and  found  their  way  outside  within  the  intervening  eighteen  days.  They 
had  then  the  appearance  of  having  been  hatched  a  day  or  two. 

During  the  ensuing  week  they  gradually  darkened  in  color  and  were 
joined  by  their  fellow  broodlings,  who  gathered  in  a  semicircle  around  the 
upper  edge  of  the  cocoon  on  the  box.  Here  they  remained  six  days  upon 
the  top  of  a  case  of  drawers  near  an  open  window.  While  reading  on 
the  evening  of  June  19th  by  the  light  of  an  argand  burner,  I  glanced  up- 
ward and  observed  that  the  lamp  was  covered  with  web  lines  that  fringed 

the  bottom  of  the  por- 
''''''•  celain  shade  and  met- 

al stand.  Upon  these 
lines  forty  or  fifty  spi- 
derlings hung,  in  the 
full  blaze  of  light. 
They  had  evidently 
just  issued  from  the 
cocoon  tent,  and  had 
been  carried  by  the 
wind  along  a  bookcase 
and  across  the  desk  to 
the  lamp,  a  total  dis- 
tance of  fourteen  feet, 
A  bridge  line  four  feet 
long  was  strung  from 
the  bookcase  to  the 
lamp,  along  w^hich  the  brood  had  clambered,  attracted  undoubtedly  by 
the  light.  There  was  no  reason  why  they  should  have  sought  that  particu- 
lar spot,  and  many  reasons  why  they  should  have  gone  elsewhere,  but  the 
light  dominated  their  action.     (See  Volume  I.,  Fig.  141.) 

A  portion  of  these  I  removed  to  a  table,  where,  during  the  night,  they 
set  up  a  cobweb  commons  of  the  kind  heretofore  described,  and  remained 
grouped  thereon  until  next  morning.  TJien  they  and  nearly  all  their  fel- 
lows were  dispersed  by  the  breeze  when  the  windows  were  opened.  It  thus 
appeared  that  exposure  to  and  the  force  of  the  wind  determined  the  fact 
of  a  quick  and  wide  distribution  of  spiderlings  immediately  after  egress. 
In  the  case  of  the  other  broods  that  were  protected  from  the  effects  of 
strong  winds,  the  young  remained  within  a  limited  space  for  two  or  three 
weeks.  Most  of  them  gradually  disappeared  by  aeronautic  flight,  mount- 
ing in  that  way  to  the  ceiling  and  walls;  some  of  them  spun  small  orbs 
in  the  vicinity,  and  some  remained  upon  the  common  web  to  the  end. 


Fig.  288.    Cocoon  tent  of  Epeira  sclopetaria. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  295 


V. 

The  vision  of  spiders  is  evidently  limited  in  extent,  although  it  remains 
to  be  determined  what  that  extent  may  be.  Prof.  iVuguste  Forel,  so 
widely  known  for  his  distinguished  studies  of  ants,  records  in  a 
„.  .  paper  on  the  "  Senses  of   Insects,"  that  if  a  cocoon  be  removed 

from  a  ground  spider  (Lycosa)  to  the  distance  of  two  or  three 
inches,  she  will  hunt  about  for  it  and  have  great  difficulty  in  finding  it. 
He  states,  moreover,  that  jumping  spiders  (Saltigrades)  cannot  perceive 
their  prey  at  a  distance  greater  than  two  or  three  inches.^ 

Professor  Peckham,  as  the  result  of  his  experiments,  concludes  that 
spiders,  at  least  the  Lycosids,  even  when  they  see  their  cocoons,  are  not 
able  to  recognize  them  except  through  the  medium  of  the  sense  of  touch. ^ 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Peckhams'  observations  make  it  plain  that 
Saltigrades  can  see  objects  at  a  distance  of  at  least  ten  inches.  They  fre- 
quently saw  them  stalk  their  prey  at  a  distance  of  five  inches.  They  re- 
peatedly held  Astia  vittata  on  one  finger  and  allowed  it  to  jump  to  a 
finger  of  the  other  hand,  gradually  increasing  the  distance  up  to  eight 
inches.  As  the  distance  increased,  the  spider  paused  a  longer  time  before 
springing,  gathering  its  legs  together  to  make  a  good  "ready." 

I  have  repeatedly  verified  this  experiment  with  an  adult  female  of 
Phidippus  morsitans.  Holding  the  spider  upon  a  box  in  which  she  had 
been  taken,  I  approached  a  finger  within  an  inch  of  her  face,  until  her 
attention  was  evidently  attracted.  Presently  she  leaped  the  space,  alight- 
ing upon  the  'finger.  I  then  restored  her  to  her  position  upon  the  box, 
and  by  manipulation  again  tempted  her  to  escape  by  vaulting  twice  the 
distance.  By  gradually  increasing  the  space,  she  finally  jumped  a  distance 
of  from  three  and  a  half  to  four  inches.  Her  whole  action  showed  that 
she  had  seen  the  object  before  her,  had  discerned  the  fact  of  an  interven- 
ing space,  had  carefully  measured  the  distance,  and  then  vaulted,  success- 
fully reaching  the  object.  As  usual  on  such  occasions,  she  always  kept 
herself  secure  by  a  dragline  attachment  to  the  box  from  which  she  jumped. 

Twice  the  Peckhams  saw  a  male  Astia  vittata  chasing  a  female  upon 
a  table  covered  with  jars,  bags,  and  boxes.  The  female  would  leap  rapidly 
from  one  object  to  another,  or  would  dart  over  the  edge  of  a 
Good  book  or  box  so  as  to  be  out  of  sight.  In  this  position  she  would 
S^^f  ^^  remain  quiet  for  a  few  moments,  and  then,  creeping  to  the  edge, 
grades.  would  peer  over  to  see  if  the  male  were  still  pursuing  her.  If 
he  happened  to  be  hidden,  she  would  seem  to  go  to  him  even 
when  ten  or  twelve  inches  away,  and  would  quickly  draw  back.  But  in 
case  he  was  hidden  behind  some  object,  she  would  hurry  oif,   seeming  to 


1  Sensationes  des  Insectes,  I.    Recueil  Zoologique  Suisse,  Tome  IV.,  No.  1,  pages  18,  19. 

2  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,  pages  401,  402. 


296  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


think  she  had  a  good  chance  to  escape.  The  male  in  the  meantime  fre- 
quently lost  sight  of  the  female.  He  would  then  mount  to  the  top  of  the 
box  or  jar  upon  which  he  found  himself,  and,  raising  his  head,  would 
take  a  comprehensive  view  of  surrounding  objects.  Here  he  would  remain 
until  he  caught  sight  of  the  female,  which  he  often  did  at  a  distance  of 
at  least  ten  inches-,  when  he  would  at  once  leap  rapidly  after  her.^ 

These  observations  certainly  show  a  well  developed  power  of  vision, 
sufficient  at  least  for  all  purposes  of  the  active  life  led  by  these  wandering 
Saltigrades.  They  confirm  the  opinion  elsewhere  expressed  in  this  work 
(Volume  L,  page  19),  that  individuals  of  this  tribe  possess  more  highly 
developed  vision  than  those  of  any  others.  One  might  almost  infer  this 
from  the  appearance  of  their  eyes,  the  seeming  expression  which  rests 
upon  their  faces,  and  the  general  intelligence  that  marks  their  demeanor 
and  movements. 

Sir  John  Lubbock  appears  to  have  tested  the  experiment  made  by  the 
Peckhams  upon  sight  of  spiders.  Lycosa  saccata,  a  familiar  European 
species,  was  selected  for  his  observations.  A  female  from  whom 
^^"'  an  egg  sac  was   removed  was   placed  upon   a  table,  about  which 

-,  .  she  ran  for  a  while  as  though  looking  for  her  eggs.  When  she 
ments.  became  still,  the  cocoon  was  placed  about  two  inches  in  front 
of  her.  She  evidently  did  not  see  it.  It  was  gradually  pushed 
towards  her,  but  she  took  no  notice  until  it  nearly  touched  her,  when  she 
eagerly  seized  it. 

The  cocoon  was  again  removed,  put  in  the  middle  of  the  table,  from 
which  all  other  objects  had  been  taken.  The  spider  wandere*d  about,  some- 
times passed  close  to  the  egg  sac,  but  took  no  notice  of  it.  She  spent 
an  hour  and  fifty  minutes  in  this  aimless  wandering  before  she  found  the 
cocoon,  and  then  apparently  by  accident,  A  third  time  it  was  removed, 
placed  upon  the  table  as  before,  and  an  hour  was  si)ent  in  wandering  before 
it  was  discovered.  The  experiment  was  tried  with  other  individuals,  and 
with  the  same  results.  Sir  John's  conclusion  is  that  "it  certainly. appeared 
as  if  they  could  not  see  more  than  half  an  inch  before  them ;  in  fact, 
scarcely  further  than   the  tips  of  their  feet."^ 

It  is  impossible,  however,  to  admit  the  explanation  which  the  learned 
author  has  made  of  this  inability  promptly  to  recognize  the  cocoon.  "It 
must  be  remembered,"  he  says,  "that  the  sac  is  spun  from  the  spinnerets, 
and  that  the  Lycosid  perhaps  had  never  seen  the  bag  of  eggs."  On  the 
contrary,  the  manner  in  which  the  Lycosid  prepares  her  round  cocoon, 
as  it  has  been  quite  fully  shown  and  described  by  myself,^  compels 
the  conclusion  that  the  mother  Lycosa  has  perceived  her  cocoon  both  by 
the  touch  of   sense  and  sight  from  the  beginning  of   its  fabrication  to  the 

^  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,  page  402. 

^  Senses,  Instincts,  and  Intelligence  of  Animal?,  1888,  page  179. 

^  See  Chapter  V.,  page  144. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR  ORGANS. 


297 


time  when,  having  deposited  the  eggs  within  the  Uttle  circular  patch, 
she  rolls  the  cover  around  them  into  a  ball,  and  then  attaches  the  ball 
to  her  spinnerets.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  universal  method  with  spiders 
that  carry  about  their  egg  sacs.  The  cocoon  covering  is  first  spun  upon 
some  surface,  the  eggs  enclosed,  the  ball  prepared,  and  the  last  act  is  attach- 
ing it  to  the  spinnerets. 

Of  course,  during  this  process,  a  spider  whose  eyesight  is  so  good  that 
it  can  perceive  its  prey  at  a  distance  'of  several  inches,  must  of  necessity 
have  seen  its  cocoon.  It  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  reach  any  other 
conclusion.  The  confusion  in  maternal  recognition  and  selection  of  her 
offspring  cannot,  therefore,  be  accounted  for  by  defective  sight. 

Among  the  Theridioid  spiders  is  a  large  group  of  species  which  Black- 
wall  has  placed  under  the  genus  Walckenaera,  which  present  some  re- 
markable peculiarities  in  the  location  of  the  eyes.  These  are 
distributed  on  the  anterior  part  of  the  cephalothorax,  which 
sometimes  in  females  and  usually  in  males  is  remarkably  ele- 
vated. The  drawings  here  presented  (Figs.  289-293)  are  taken  from  Black- 
wall's     descriptions    of 


Bye 
Turrets 


Walckenaera  acumina- 
ta,^ and  represent  one 
of  the  most  remarkable 
of  these  turret  like  de- 
velopments of  the  ca- 
put for  the  reception  of 
eyes.^  The  length  of 
the  female  (Fig.  292) 
is  about  one-seventh 
of  an  inch.  The  sexes 
are  similar  in  color,  but 
the  male  (Fig.  289)  is 
smaller  than  the  fe- 
male, and  the  anterior 
prominence  of  its  ceph- 
alothorax is  much  more 
elongated  and  slender, 
measuring  about  one- 
twentieth  of  an  inch  in 
length.  This  eye  tur- 
ret is  elevated  vertical- 
ly and  dilated  near  the  middle  and  at  the  apex  (see  Figs.  290,  291),  the 
latter  dilatation  being  separated  by  a  transverse  groove  into  a  superior  and 
inferior   segment,  both  of  which   are   rough,  with  short,  strong  hairs.     On 

1  Spidere  Gt.  Br.  &  Ir.,  pi.  xx.,  Fig.  203. 

2  See  also  Mr.  E.  Simon's  Arachnides  de  France,  Vol.  V.,  part  III.,  page  820. 


Walckenaera  acuminata.  291 

Fig.  289.  Male.  Pig.  290.  Eye  turret  of  male,  greatly  enlarged ;  front 
view.  Fig.  291.  The  same,  side  view.  Fig.  292.  Female.  Fk;.  293. 
Same,  side  view  of  cephalothorax,  with  outline  showing  natural  size. 
(After  Blackwall.) 


298  AMKRICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


these  enlargements  the  eyes  are  seated.  Both  sexes  of  this  curiously  con- 
structed spider  were  taken  in  England  in  October  under  stones  and  on  rails.  ^ 
It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  greatest  prominence  of  the  eye  turret  of 
Acuminata  belongs  to  the  male,  and  this  appears  to  be  the  rule  with  simi- 
larly constructed  species.  What  can  be  the  cause  or  the  use  of 
^®®  °  this?  One  would  think  that  such  a  remarkable  development 
Turrets  ^''^ust  be  intended  to  serve  the  spider  some  special  advantage  in 
making  its  way  around  its  natural  site.  But  until  we  know 
something  more  in  detail  of  the  habits  of  the  species  we  can  only  venture 
a  suggestion.  The  probability  is  that,  all  these  small  Theridioid  spiders, 
like  many  of  the  minute  species  dwelling  in  the  United  States,  spend  their 
life  upon  or  near  the  surface  of  the  earth,  where  they  weave  their  loose 
webs  of  lines  around  the  bases  and  among  the  roots  of  grasses.  It  may 
be  taken  for  granted  that  the  male,  in  his  amorous  search  after  the  female 
during  the  period  of  courtship,  would  find  such  an  eye  turret  advantageous 
in  detecting  the  home  web  and  person  of  his  mate  amidst  such  an  entang- 
ling environment.  At  least,  no  other  advantage  can  be  suggested  for  this 
strange  exaggeration  of  the  tubercles  on  the  eye  space. 

A  difficulty  which  at  once  arises,  is  the  fact  that  so  many  other  spe- 
cies having  like  habits  and  location  show  no  peculiarity  of  a  like  kind, 
and  appear  to  have  no  need  therefor.  Great  numbers  of  species  have 
eyes  placed  upon  tubercles  or  slightly  elevated  parts  of  the  caput,  usually 
of  a  rectangular  or  quadrangular  shape.  In  some  Epeiroids  these  tubercles 
are  quite  pronounced,  and  many  of  the  genera  are  sharply  distinguished 
thereby.  In  many  more  genera,  and  indeed  it  may  be  said  in 
,       ,  almost   all,  the   eye   or  ocellus  proper  is   quite  commonly  raised 

and  Rows  ^P^^  or  within  a  little  cup  of  black  chitinous  formation,  which 
thus  slightly  elevates  it  above  the  surface  of  the  face.      As  far 
as  I  know,  there  are  not  many  eyes  that  appear  to  be  set  immediately  into 
the  eye  space  without  this  enclosing  cup. 

Among  Saltigrades  and  Citigrades  one  pair  of  eyes  is  commonly  placed 
at  considerable  distance  behind  the  others,  giving  in  this  way  an  addi- 
tional advantage  to  the  species  by  the  seeming  ability  to  observe,  to  some 
extent,  objects  lying  behind  it.  The  breaking  up  of  the  eyes  into  rows, 
generally  two,  but  sometimes  three,  may  serve  the  same  useful  purpose. 
This  whole  subject  is  an  interesting  one,  but  the  facts  in  my  possession 
are  so  few  that  I  can  do  little  more  than  open  it  for  the  consideration  of 
future  students. 

VL 

In  considering  the  sense  of  smell  in  spiders  two  questions  require  at- 
tention.    In  the  first  place  do  spiders   possess   this  sense  at  all,  and,  if   so, 

1  Blackwall,  idem.,  page  290. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  299 


to  what  extent?     And,  in  the  second  place,  where  are  the  olfactory  organs 
located  ?     The  conclusion   which   I   had   reached,  as   the  result  of   experi- 
ments  and   observations  of   my  own,  is   that   spiders   have   little 
■'■^®  sense  of  smell,  although  they  are  in  some  way  affected  by  certain 

Smell  odors.  I  have  long  entertained  the  opinion  that  the  sense  of 
smell  in  spiders,  like  that  of  hearing,  abides  entirely  in  the  deli- 
cate hairs  which  constitute  the  covering  and  armature  of  the  creature.  I 
have  thought  that  in  some  way  the  nervous  system  receives  through  these 
organs  or  appendages  impressions  that  may  be  considered  analogous  to 
hearing  and  smelling  in  the  higher  animals;  but,  further,  that  both  these 
senses  are  in  an  extremely  rudimentary  condition. 

These  conclusions  are  substantially  confirmed  by  the   experiments  re- 
corded  by  Professor   and   Mrs.  Peckham,  which  were   carefully   performed 
and  continued  through  a   number  of   examples   large   enough   to 
The  Peck- j^g^j£y  ^  conclusion.     Their   method  was  to  place  a  rod  dipped 
•         ,    in  various  essential  oils,  cologne,  and  several  kinds  of  perfumes, 
close  to  the   various  parts  of  the  spiders,    and   note   the   effect. 
The  results  were  carefully  tested  in  all  cases  by  first  presenting  a  clean  rod. 
Among  the  essential  oils  used  were  oil  of  peppermint,  of  lavender,  of  cedar, 
of  cloves,  and  of  wintergreen.     The  first  experiments  made  were  upon  some 
tame  Attidse  that  had  taken  up  their  abode  with  them.     These  were  fear- 
less  little   creatures,  ready  to  jump   upon   the  finger,  catch   the  gnats  that 
were  offered  them,  or  drink  from  a  spoon.     They  showed  the  same  facility 

in  smelling  that  they  exhibited  in  seeing,  and  were  quick  to  re- 
Effects  of  b  J  .  &J  1 
^ ,              spond   to   any  test  of   their   sense  of   smell.     The   most   common 

effect  produced  by  an  odor  was  that  it  caused  the  spiders  to  raise 
their  fore  legs  and  palps,  which  sometimes  they  also  moved  up  and  down. 
In  one  case  great  excitement  was  caused  by  the  approximation  of  pepper- 
mint. In  several  cases  the  spiders,  after  indicating  that  they  noticed  the 
scent,  moved  away  from  it. 

With  Orbweavers  the  effect  of  the  various  perfumes  was  to  cause  an 
upward  jerk  of  the  abdomen  and  a  movement  of  the  legs.  Sometimes  the 
tips  of  the  legs  were  rubbed  between  the  palps  and  the  falces.  The  result 
of  two  hundred  and  twenty  experiments  may  be  summed  up  as  follows : 
Three  species,  Epeira  hortorum,  Dolomedes  tenebrosus,  Herpyllus  ecclesias- 
ticus,  did  not  respond  to  the  test.  In  all  other  cases  it  was  evident  that 
the  scent  was  perceived  by  the  spiders,  although  it  may  be  noted  that 
among  spiders  of  the  same  species  great  differences  of  degree  exist  in  their 
sensitiveness  to  odors.  The  spiders  exhibited  their  sensitiveness  to  the 
various  perfumes  by  movements  of  the  legs,  palps,  and  abdomen;  by  shak- 
ing their  webs ;  by  running  away ;  by  seizing  the  rod  which  had  been 
dipped  into  the  scent,  enswathing  it  as  they  would  insects ;  in  the  case  of 
the  Attidse,  by  approaching  the  testing  rod  with  the  first  leg  and  palps 
held   erect,  but  whether  in  the  way  of  attacking  it,  or,   as  it  sometimes 


300  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


seemed,  because  the  smell  was  pleasant  to  them,  the  observers  could   not 

determine.  ^ 

As  to  the  olfactory  organs,  the  experiments  would  indicate  that  they  are 

distributed  more  or  less  over  the  entire   surface  of   the  body,  especially  at 

the  tips  of  the  feet  and  at   the   apex  of  the  abdomen,  but   that 

Olfactory  ^j^^y  probably  are  more  highly  developed  in  the  fore  part  of  the 

T  ^^?.  '  bodv  and  in  the  organs  immediately  surrounding  the  face.  In 
Location.         "^  ^^  j  » 

order  to  test  the  value  of  the  palps  as  olfactory  organs,  those 
parts  were  dissected  from  two  females  of  Argiope  cophinaria.  The  result- 
ing tests  indicated  that  the  araneads  had  suffered  no  apparent  loss  of  sen- 
sitiveness. In  one  case  the  application  of  the  oil  of  lavender  at  the  front 
of  the  body  caused  the  spider  instantly  to  contract  her  legs  and  rub  the 
tips  thereof,  one  at  a  time,  upon  the  falces.  The  other  spiders  responded 
to  heliotrope  and  Chinese  bouquet  by  quickly  jerking  the  abdomen  and 
rubbing  the  tips  of  the  legs  over  the  falces. 

VII. 

A  number  of   experiments,  prolonged   through   several  years,  have  been 

made  with  a  view  to  determine  the  extent  to  which  spiders   hear,  and  the 

location  of  the  auditory  organs.     I  have  found  myself  continually 

,x  •  thwarted,  or  at  least  confused,  by  doubts  lest  the  various  re- 
Hearmg.  '  ,  ,       •    i  i  „    ,         . 

spouses  made  were  caused  by  independent  movements  of  the  air, 

which,  operating  on  the  delicate  body  armature,  of  course  produced  sensa- 
tion and  excitement.  I  made  many  experiments  upon  the  tarantula  "  Lei- 
dy,"  which  I  had  in  my  keeping  for  more  than  five  years,  and  whose  life 
I  have  elsewhere  recorded.^  These  experiments  were  made  with  tuning 
forks,  with  several  kinds  of  musical  instruments,  and  by  sounds  of  all  de- 
grees of  sharpness  and  dullness  made  by  the  human  voice  and  various 
sonorous  objects. 

Once  I  had  nearly  concluded  that  the  great  creature  was  immensely 
excited  by  my  flute.  Certain  tones,  when  the  instrument  was  brought  close 
to  the  vessel  in  which  the  tarantula  was  confined,  caused  her  at  once  to 
rear  upon  her  hind  legs  in  that  rampant  attitude  which  this  creature  as- 
sumes when  about  to  strike  its  prey.  During  one  experiment,  however, 
something  occurred  which  induced  me  to  drop  my  flute  and  make  a  light 
puff  of  air  with  my  mouth  over  the  edge  -of  the  glass  cage,  so  that  the 
wind  thug  produced  would  be  reflected  against  the  animal.  At  once  she 
assumed  the  rampant  position  precisely  as  before.  Repeating  this,  I  found 
that  it  was  simply  the  motion  of  the  air  over  the  mouth  hole  of  the  flute, 
which  was  carried  into  the  cage,  that  had  agitated  the  tarantula.     In  other 

>  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders. 

-  'Proceedings  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1887,  page  3G9,  sq.  "  Prolonged  Life  in  Inver- 
tebrates ;  Notes  on  the  Age  and  Habits  of  the  American  Tarantula." 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  301 


words,  when  I  blew  upon  her,  the  action  of  the  wind  excited  her,  and 
caused  her  to  rear  upon  her  hind  legs  as  though  some  enemy  were  ap- 
proaching or  some  victim  coming  within  reach. 

This  will  illustrate  some  of  the  difficulties  in  the  way  toward  a  just 
verdict.  Of  course,  all  sound  is  produced  by  vibrations  of  the  air  ;  but  it 
seems  possible  that  the  movements  produced  by  tuning  forks  and  other 
instruments,  sounded,  as  they  must  be,  in  so  close  proximity  to  the  spider, 
may  and  probably  do  mechanically  agitate  the  hairs  upon  the  body,  and 
thus  effect  the  sense  of  touch  alone,  producing  an  excitement  which  I  have 
often  observed  and  sometimes  attributed  to  hearing.  The  difficulty  has 
been  to  separate  between  these  two  sensations  and  decide  whether  my  ex- 
periments had  not  simply  excited  the  spider  by  touch.  My  conclusion,  as 
the  result  of  independent  observations,  is  that  if  spiders  have 
rg-ans  o  ^^^  sense  of  hearing  proper,  that  sense  is  distributed,  like  the 
sense  of  smell,  over  the  entire  body ;  and,  further,  that  it  can 
scarcely  be  distinguished  from  the  sense  of  touch  as  it  is  known  to  us. 
No  doubt,  however,  the  aranead  has  some  of  the  advantages  within  its 
limited  sphere  that  auditory  organs  proper  give  to  higher  animals. 

On  this  point  the  Peckhams  also  made  a  number  of  experiments,  with 
some  interesting  results,  as  follows :  Certain  spiders  indicate  that  they  hear 
a  vibrating  tuning  fork,  by  characteristic  movements  of  the  legs;  others  by 
signs  of  alarm,  dropping  from  the  web  and  keeping  out  of  sight  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  time.  One  spider,  at  least,  Cyclosa  caudata,  when  sub- 
jected to  frequent  approximations  of  a  tuning  fork,  seemed  to  become  grad- 
ually accustomed  to  the  sensation,  and,  instead  of  dropping  from  her  web 
as  at  first,  remained  immovable  and  apparently  undisturbed.  One  of  the 
most  interesting  points  developed  is  that  orbmaking  spiders  appear  to  be 
most  sensitive  to  the  vibrations  of  the  tuning  fork.  All  these  responded 
promptly,  being  evidently  alarmed  by  the  sound. 

On  the  contrary,  spiders  that  make  no  webs  gave  not  the  slightest  heed 
to  the  sound.  Among  those  species  that  proved  unresponsive  were  two 
Tubeweavers  (Herpyllus),  several  Lycosids,  and  the  familiar  Dol- 
Q  ,  omedes  tenebrosus.  Professor  Peckham  suggests  that  this  differ- 
ence may  be  partially  explained  by  difPerence  in  the  feeding 
habits  of  the  two  groups,  an  explanation  which  leaves  much  to  be  ex- 
plained. May  we  venture  to  suppose  that,  in  the  case  of  the  Orbweavers, 
the  particular  effect  produced  by  the  vibrations  of  the  tuning  fork  upon 
the  spider  hanging  on  her  web,  or  upon  the  delicate  filaments  of  the  web 
itself,  is  very  much  the  same  as  that  produced  by  the  rapidly  vibrating 
wings  of  an  insect  when  humming  around  the  snare  or  when  struggling 
within  it?  Certainly  Orbweavers  are  dependent  upon  some  such  agitation, 
especially  of  the  web,  for  the  intelligence  that  their  snares  have  succeeded 
in  trapping  a  victim.  On  the  othei^  hand,  we  know  that  Lycosids,  for  ex- 
ample, which  stalk  their  prey  in  the  open  field,  instead  of  ensnaring  them 


302  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


upon  silken  nets,  are  chiefly  dependent  upon  sight  for  knowledge  of  their 
victim's  presence  and  power  to  secure  it. 

A  few  experiments  were  made  to  determine  where  the  organ  of  hearing 
is  located,  which,  as  far  as  they  go,  seem  to  confirm  my  own  opinion  as 
expressed  above,  that  the  auditory  apparatus  is  but  little  specialized,  and 
is  distributed  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  epidermis.  The  removal 
of  the  palps  appeared  to  make  no  difference  in  the  power  of  individuals  to 
respond  to  the  vibrations  of  the  fork.  So  also  the  removal  of  the  first 
pair  of  legs  seemed  to  leave  the  auditory  organs  intact,  at  least  made  no 
impairment  of  power  to  respond  to  sound. 

I  will  now  describe  two  of  my  own   experiments,  as  illustrative  of  the 
method   pursued  and  the  grounds  for   reaching   my  conclusion.     An  adult 
female   Domicile  spider,  hanging   in   the  centre  of  her  orb,  was 
uning      tested  by  an  "A"  tuning  fork.     The  fork  in  rapid  vibration  was 
j^j^gjj^  moved   all  around   her,  gradually   approaching   until   the  instru- 
ment was  within  a  few  millimetres  of  her  person.     All  parts  of 
the  body  were  thus  tested  and  no  signs  of  excitement  appeared.     The  fork 
was   then   touched    to    the   top    of   the   web,  when   Domicile    immediately 
showed  signs  of  excitement,  acting  precisely  as  if  an  insect  were  entangled 
at  that   point.     She   turned   herself   in   the   direction  of   the  fork,  grasped 
the  radii  leading  outward  to  the  point  of  contact,  pulled  upon  them  in  the 
usual  way  as  though  testing  the  strength  or  entanglement  of  the  supposed 
insect,  and  then  gradually  approached  the  point  of  agitation.     I  withdrew 
the  fork,  and,  as  the  spider  came  up  to  the  margin  of  the  web  where  the 
instrument  had  been,  she  turned  around,  made  several  motions  as  though 
examining  the  strands,  spun  out  a  few  lines,  and  w^ent  back  to  her  hub, 
dragging  a  thread  after  her. 

The  fork  was  then  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  web,  then  at  the  sides, 
and   so   successively  to  various    points    on    the    circumference   of    the   orb. 
The  same  action  substantially  resulted,  the  spider  always  going  to  the  spot 
where  the  fork  was  vibrating  against  the  lines  of  her  web.     Finally,  I  suf- 
fered the  fork  to  remain  as  the  spider  approached.     She  touched  it  with 
her  fore  feet;  at  once  showed  tokens  of  surprise,  indeed  of  some 
,    ,       stronger  emotion ;   she   seemed   to   be   expressing   the  feeling,  "  I 
Spider.       have   been  fooled;"  turned  her  back  upon  the  fork,  shot  out  a 
thread    from    her    spinnerets,  and    scampered   away   to   the   hub, 
where  she  curled   herself  up,  drawing  her  legs  toward  her  face  until  the 
knees    projected    above    the    head,    exhibiting    what    I    cannot    express    by 
another   phrase   than   tokens   of   disgust. 

I  then  laid  the  vibrating  fork  upon  the  outer  lines,  but  Domicile  would 
not  respond.  I  revolved  the  fork  around  the  hub,  close  to  her,  as  at  the 
beginning  of  the  experiment.  This  time,  instead  of  remaining  motion- 
less, she  waved  her  fore  feet  back  and  forward,  as  though  she  had  observed 
the    vibration   and    were    feeling    the    situation.      After    a    few    moments' 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR  ORGANS.  303 


interval  I  again  tried  the  fork  to  the  sides  of  the  web.  This  time  Domicile 
was  again  deceived,  and  turned  towards  the  point  of  agitation  as  in  pre- 
vious cases.  She  had  evidently  forgotten  her  former  experience  in  the  brief 
intervening  space. 

The  conclusion   which   I   draw  from   such   an  experiment   is  that  the 

spider   was   affected   by   the  vibratory   motions   of  the  fork,  communicated 

through  the  taut  elastic  line  to  the  hairs  and  spines  of  the  feet. 

.     . .     '    The   sense   of  touch  was  the  only  means   of  communicating  the 
nication          ..  i.t-pi  •  -, 

by  Touch,  agitation,  and   no   other   indications  oi   the  spider  having  heard 

the  sounds  of  the  fork  were  here  shown  than  appear  in  the  cap- 
ture of  an  insect  under  well  known  and  ordinary  circumstances.  Certainly 
the  theor}'-  has  never  been  advanced,  and  could  not  be  maintained,  that  the 
spider  hears  the  motion  of  an  entangled  insect's  wings  and  runs  to  secure 
the  victim  at  such  a  signal.  In  such  case  it  is  manifest  that  the  spider 
feels  the  action  of  the  struggling  captive  as  it  is  communicated  over  the 
vibrating  radii  to  her  feet,  which  grasp  them  at  the  centre  of  her  snare. 
If  this  be  so,  it  seems  to  me  equally  manifest  that  the  same  sense  was 
brought  to  bear  in  determining  the  position  of  the  tuning  fork  in  the 
above  and  like  experiments. 

I  may  venture  to  give  the  record  of  another  experiment  with  the  tun- 
ing fork,  which  was  also  wrought  upon  a  Domicile  spider.  The  vibrating 
fork  was  placed  near  her  as  she  sat  upon  the  hub,  and  moved  around  her 
four  times,  the  spider  showing  no  symptoms  of  perceiving  the  vibrations. 
The  fork  was  approached  within  a  few  millimetres  of  the  hind  legs,  where- 
upon she  showed  excitement.  This  was  again  repeated  a  number  of  times, 
the  spider  showing  no  signs.  I  quote  the  notes:  "The  vibrating  fork  is 
next  touched  to  a  radius  on  one  side  of  the  web.  The  spider  turns  and 
runs  out  towards  the  point  of  contact.  After  one  minute's  interval  the 
orb  was  touched  on  the  opposite  side.  Domicile  leaves  the  hub,  runs  out 
a  little  ways  towards  the  fork,  hangs  upon  the  radial  line,  waves  one  fore 
foot  around  through  an  open  space  torn  by  the  rain  just  below  the  hub, 
then  returns  to  the  hub. 

"  One  minute  interval.  The  fork  is  applied  to  a  radius  at  the  top  of 
the  web.  Domicile  makes  same  demonstrations  as  before.  One  minute 
interval.  The  fork  is  applied  within  a  half  inch  of  the  spider's  face  as 
she  hangs  upon  the  hub.  She  stretches  out  one  fore  leg  as  on  guard. 
One  minute  interval.  The  experiment  is  repeated.  The  fore  legs  are  both 
thrown  out  quickly,  violently,  as  though  to  grasp  something.  After  one 
minute  the  experiment  is  repeated  three  times.  The  first  two  are  unno- 
ticed. At  the  third  application  Domicile  shoots  out  her  fore  legs.  After 
the  same  interval  the  fork  is  tried  at  one  side  and  at  the  top  of  the  web 
several  times.  No  response.  It  is  then  placed  upon  the  web  at  the  other 
side.  The  spider  runs  towards  the  fork.  Various  trials  are  made  at  the 
same  and  other  points,  and  all  fail  to  elicit  a  response." 


304  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


The  result  of  this  experiment,  as  in  the  case  above  detailed,  and  indeed 
in  all  other  cases  tried,  is  the  conclusion  that  the  symptoms  of  hearing,  as 
they  have  ordinarily  been  described,  seem  to  appear  in  the  spider 
Conclu-  Qy^iy  ^y}ien  the  vibration  of  the  sound  instrument  is  communi- 
^on  rem  ^j^^^gj  along  the  line  of  her  web  to  the  hairs  which  form  the 
ments.       armature  of  her  body. 

I  can  reach  no  other  conclusion  from  the  experiments  so  ad- 
mirably portrayed  by  Mr.  Pcckham.^  His  experiments  upon  Orbweavers 
enabled  him  to  get  results  which,  to  his  mind,  indicated  the  sense  of  hear- 
ing. That  the  vibrations  produced  a  state  of  excitement  is  true,  but  the 
question  is,  what  was  the  mediate  cause  of  that  excitement?  Did  it  result 
from  hearing  a  sound,  or  was  it  simply  caused  by  feeling  a  vibration 
similar  to  that  made  by  an  insect  captured  or  hovering  near?  Mr.  Peck- 
ham's  experiments  indeed  seem  to  me  clearly  to  indicate  the  conclusion 
which  I  myself  have  reached. 

He  used  the  tuning  fork  upon  a  half  dozen  species  taken  from  different 
groups  of  spiders,  making  ten  or  twelve  trials  on  each  one.  No  individual 
gave  the  least  intimation  of  hearing  anything.  These  unresponsive  species 
belong  to  the  genus  Herpyllus  among  the  Tubeweavers,  and  the  genera 
Pardosa,  Piratica,  Lycosa,  and  Dolomedes  among  the  Citigrades.  None  of 
these  spiders,  so  far  as  known,  ever  capture  their  prey  by  means  of  webs — 
a  fact  which  struck  Professor  Peckham.  It  seemed  to  him  "  remarkable 
that  while  all  the  Epei'roids  responded  promptly,  being  evidently  alarmed 
by  the  sound  of  the  tuning  fork,  the  spiders  that  make  no  web,  on  the 
contrary,  gave  not  the  slightest  heed  to  the  sound.  This  may  perhaps  be 
partially  explained  by  the  difference  in  the  feeding  habits  of  the  two 
groups." 

Does  this  explain  anything?  The  difference  here  indicated  certainly  lies 
in  this,  that  the  excitement  of  the  Epei'roids  was  produced  by  the  agita- 
tion of  the  hairs  upon  their  feet,  and  that  agitation  was  awakened  by  vibra- 
tions of  the  fork  along  the  lines  of  the  web.  That  the  web  is  affected  by 
these  vibrations  I  thoroughly  satisfied  myself  by  experiment.  For  exam- 
ple, a  vibrating  fork,  when  approximated  to  the  broad,  zigzag  ribbon  upon 
the  orb  of  Argiope,  would  cause  it  to  sway  back  and  forth  as  though 
agitated  by  the  motion  of  the  air,  which,  beating  upon  it,  alternately  re- 
pulsed and  attracted  it. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  remarkable  fact  were  it  to  be  established  that 
those  spiders  which,  like  the  Lycosids,  are  dependent  upon  keenness  of 
the  senses  for  their  success  in  capturing  prey,  should  prove  to  be  destitute 
of  the  valuable  sense  of  hearing ;  while  the  webmaking  spiders,  who  are 
so  little  dependent  upon  the  sense  of  hearing,  and  are  enabled  to  accom- 
plish the  most   important  functions  of  life  by  the  sense  of  touch   alone, 

^  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,  pages  396,  397. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  305 


should  be  found  to  possess  hearing  in  a  degree  of  acuteness.  It  is  not 
often  that  one  finds  a  contradiction  like  this  in  natural  history,  viz.,  that 
those  animals  that  most  need  a  certain  organism  or  sense  have  none,  while 
those  which  are  in  least  need  are  highly  sensitive. 

The  experiments  of  Mr.  C.  V.  Boys  ^  would  really  lead  to  the  same 
conclusion.     He  notes  that  after  a  spider  has  been  dropped  from  its  web 

by  bringing  a  tuning  fork  near  it,  if  the  fork  is  made  to  touch 
Mr.  Boys  g^^y  ^g^^t  of  the  web  the  spider  is  aware  of  the  fact,  and  climbs 
.  "       the   thread  and   reaches  the  fork   with   marvelous   rapidity.     Mr. 

Peckham  observes  and  records  a  similar  fact  in  the  case  of  Epeira 
strix  and  Epeira  labyrinth ea. ^  How  shall  we  account  for  these  actions?  It 
appears  to  me  clear  that  when  the  fork  was  placed  near  the  animal  its  vi- 
brations agitated  the  hairs  upon  the  body  and  the  spinningwork  immediately 
under  and  around,  just  as  a  large  insect  hovering  near  in  the  same  posi- 
tion would  have  done.  The  spider,  therefore,  did  in  the  case  of  the  tun- 
ing fork  what  it  would  almost  certainly  have  done  in  the  case  of  the  in- 
sect— it  dropped  from  its  hub  as  a  measure  of  defense. 

In  fact,  a  spider  seated  upon  its  hub  is  ordinarily  at  a  decided  disad- 
vantage when  an  insect  enemy,  such  as  a  wasp,  approaches  near  it.  Its 
best  defense,  therefore,  is  to  get  out  of  the  way.  But  it  is  quite  a  differ- 
ent thing  when  its  enemy  appears  at  any  viscid  part  of  the  web  and  by 
the  agitation  thereof  gives  indications  that  it  is  captured.  This  is  a  signal 
which  the  spider  understands  to  mean,  in  almost  every  case,  that  its  vic- 
tim is  ensnared  and  it  can  approach  it  with  comparative  safety.  For  this 
reason  the  spider  that  would  run  from  an  ihsect  or  a  supposed  insect  that 
seemed  to  threaten  it,  would  run  towards  the  same  when  it  appeared  to  be 
captured  and  harmless.  In  these  experiments,  therefore,  I  see  simply  dif- 
ferent manifestations  of  the  same  sensation  of  touch  under  different  excit- 
ing causes. 

VIIL 

In  connection  with  these  observations  upon  the  auditory  powers  of  spi- 
ders, one  must  at  least  glance  at  the  numerous  stories  about,  and  prevalent 

beliefs  in,  the  sensitiveness  of  spiders  to  music.  There  is  such  a 
Sensi-  discrepancy  between  belief  in  this  commendable  trait  and  the 
t    M     ■      general  contempt  and  disfavor  with  which  araneads  are  regarded, 

that  one  might  incline  to  think  there  is  good  grounds  for  the 
tradition,  since  it  would  hardly  have  arisen  under  the  circumstances  with- 
out some  basis  of  truth.  Certain  it  is,  the  opinion  is  quite  ancient  and  is 
widely  distributed.  Nor  are  there  lacking  incidents  of  seeming  historic 
verity  to  be  cited  in  confirmation  thereof.  It  may  be  of  value,  it  will  at 
least  be  interesting,  to  quote  a  few  of  these. 


1  "Nature,"  XXIII.,  pages  149,  150.  =  Op.  cit.,  page  411. 


306  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

The  anonymous  author  of  an  ancient  history  of  music  records  the  fol- 
lowing examples  among  others  which  tend  to  illustrate  the  effect  of  harmo- 
nious sounds  upon  the  lower  creation,  ^  An  officer  of  a  Navarre  (French) 
regiment  was  committed  to  prison  for  having  spoken  too  freely  of  M.  de 
Louvois.  In  order  to  brighten  his  prison  life  he  sent  for  his  lute.  He  was 
astonished,  after  four  days,  to  see  that  when  he  played,  the  spiders  would 
descend  from  their  webs  in  his  cell  and  form  in  a  circle  around  him  in 
order  to  listen. 

On  the  first  occasion  he  was  so  greatly  surprised  that  he  remained  per- 
fectly motionless,  when,  having  ceased  to  play,  all  the  spiders  retired  qui- 
etly into  their  dens.     This  strange  assemblage  caused  the  officer 

Attract-     ^Q  ^oYi  into  a  muse  upon  the  accounts  related  by  the  ancients  of 

ed  bv  a 

T    ,  Orpheus,  Arion,  and   Amphion.     He  assured  the   author   of  the 

Histoire,  who  appears  to  have  received  his  account  at  first  hand, 
that  he  remained  six  days  without  again  playing,  an  abstinence  which  was 
caused  in  part  by  his  astonishment,  and  perhaps  more  especially  by  the 
natural  aversion  he  had  for  this  kind  of  "  insects."  However,  he  began 
anew  to  give  a  concert  to  these  animals,  who  seemed  to  come  every  day 
in  greater  numbers,  as  though  they  had  invited  others,  so  that  in  the 
course  of  time  he  found  a  hundred  gathered  about  him. 

But  this  sort  of  society  in  such  multitude  proving  in  the  end  undesir- 
able, Monsieur  the  Captain  got  a  cat  from  his  jailer.  This  animal  he  would 
shut  up  in  a  cage  when  he  wished  the  presence  of  his  aranead  admirers ; 
on  the  contrary,  when  he  would  dismiss  them,  he  let  the  cat  loose.  The 
particular  actions  of  pussy  are  not  described,  but  the  narrator  alluded  to 
them  as  "  making  a  kind  of  comedy  that  alleviated   his  imprisonment." 

The  author  of  this  history  from  which  I  quote  long  doubted  the  truth 
of  the  above  story,  but  declares  that  he  was  confirmed  therein  by  subse- 
quently hearing  a  gentleman  of  position,  merit,  and  probity,  who 
Violin  played  very  skillfully  upon  several  instruments,  relating  an  inci- 
dent of  the  same  tenor.  This  person  said  that  he  once  went  into 
his  chamber  to  refresh  himself  after  a  walk,  and  took  up  a  violin  to  amuse 
himself  with  music  until  supper  time,  a  light  being  placed  upon  the  table 
before  him.  He  had  not  played  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  he  saw  sev- 
eral spiders  descend  from  the  ceiling,  who  came  and  arranged  themselves 
round  about  the  table  to  hear  him  pla3\  He  was  greatly  surprised  at  such 
a  demonstration,  but  did  not  interrupt  the  music,  having  the  curiosity  to 
see  the  end  of  so  singular  an  occurrence.  The  spiders  remained  on  the 
table  very  attentively  until  some  one  entered  to  call  the  musician  to  sup- 
per, when  he  ceased  to  play.  Thereupon,  as  he  informed  the  author,  the 
spiders  remounted  to  their  webs,  and,  very  much  to  his  credit  be  it  said, 

^  "Histoire  de  la  Musique  et  de  Ses  EfFets,"  edition  Paris,  1715.  I  am  indebted  to  the 
musical  library  of  Mr.  H.  C.  Wilt,  the  organist  of  my  church,  for  references  to  this  book  and 
the  work  of  Sir  John  Hawkins. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  307 


he  added  that  he  would  suffer  no  injury  to  be  done  them.  Subsequently 
he  declared  it  was  a  diversion  with  which  he  often  amused  himself  and 
gratified  his  curiosity.^ 

A  somewhat  similar  incident  is  associated  with  the  distinguished  musical 
composer  Ludwig  van  Beethoven.  According  to  Schindler,  the  story,  if  not 
originated,  was  generally  spread  by  a  biographical  paper  on  Bee- 
Beethoven  ^j^Q^gj^  by  Dr.  Christian  Miiller,  of  Bremen.  The  tradition  runs 
Snider  ^'^^^  ^^  often  as  the  little  Ludwig  played  his  violin  in  his 
little  room  a  spider,  enamored  of  the  strains,  let  itself  down 
and  sat  upon  the  instrument.  When  his  mother  discovered  her  son's 
strange  companion  she  killed  the  spider,  whereupon  the  little  fellow  broke 
his  violin.  Upon  this  fairytale  Schindler  comments:  "The  great  Ludwig 
could  not  recall  such  a  fact,  as  much  as  this  fable  amused  him.  On  the 
contrary,  he  said  that  everything,  even  flies  and  spiders,  would  have  fled 
before  his  terrible  scratching."^  Of  course,  in  view  of  such  statements, 
not  the  slightest  credence  can  be  given  to  "  this  pretty  fairy  tale  of  a 
poet's  invention,"  and  it  shows  how  little  credit  is  often  due  to  these  pop- 
ular fancies  that  associate  themselves  with  distinguished  characters. 

The  well  known  anecdote  of  Pelisson,  as  described  by  Abbe  Olivet,  is 
another  example  in  point.  This  gentleman  was  confined  in  the  Bastile 
during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  and  amused  himself  by  feed- 
„  . ,  ing   a  spider,   which,  from   the   description,  must  haVe  been  one 

of  a  Tubemaking  species.  The  hour  of  feeding  was  timed  to 
the  rude  music  played  by  a  Basque,  who  wa^  the  companion  of  his  cell. 
The  spider  in  time  learned  to  distinguish  the  sound  of  the  music,  and  to 
associate  it  with  the  season  for  its  special  banquet.  This  story,  with 
various  embellishments,  has  had  a  wide  circulation  and  belief,  though  I 
believe  it  is  wholly  discredited  by  modern  historians. 

Cowan  quotes  an  account  of  a  certain  young  ladies'  school  at  Kensing- 
ton, England,  in  which  an  immense  species  of  spider  was  said  to  be  un- 
comfortably common.     When  the  young  ladies  were  gathered  for 

,  p.        their  morning  and  evening  worship,  and  engaged  in  singing  their 

accustomed   hymn,  these   spiders   made   their  appearance   on   the 

floor,  as   the   story  goes,  or   suspended    overhead   from   their   webs    in   the 

ceiling.     The  obvious  attraction,  it  was  inferred,  was  the  sweet  singing  by 

the  worshiping  young  ladies. 

Walckenaer  quoted  Gretry  as  relating  in  his  memoirs  that  at  his  coun- 
try seat  a  spider  would  seat  itself  upon  the  table  of  his  piano  whenever  it 
was  played,  and  would  disappear  therefrom  when  one  ceased  to  touch  the 

^  Sir  John  Hawkins'  History  of  Music,  Vol.  III.,  page  117,  note. 

2  Biographie  von  Ludwig  van  Beethoven  verfasst  von  Anton  Schindler.-  Dritte,  neu  bear- 
beitete  und  vermehrte  Auflage.  Erster  Theil,  page  3,  Munster,  1860.  See  also  Thayer's  His- 
tory: Ludwig  van  Beethoven,  von  Alexander  Wheelock  Thayer.  Ei-ster  Band,  page  112, 
Berlin,  1866. 


308  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


keys.  He  also  states,  as  a  fact  which  had  recently  come  to  his  attention, 
that  a  lady  while  playing  a  harp  in  the  midst  of  her  garden  perceived  a 
spider  fixed  in  the  attitude  of  attention  above  her.  Presently  she  trans- 
ported her  instrument  to  another  part  of  the  room,  whereupon  the  spider 
also  changed  its  position.  The  lady's  curiosity  being  excited,  several  simi- 
lar movements  were  made,  which  led  her  to  conclude  that  the  aranead  was 
affected  by  the  sound  of  the  instrument.^  • 

Campbell  had   in   confinement   a  Tegenaria  domestica,  which  at  a  tune 
from  a  music  box  would  open  her  spinnerets,  an  act  which  is  common  to 

spiders  when  expecting  food,  and  go  to  the  centre  of  her  web 
p.^^^*^        where   she   used  to   be  fed.     It   took    some   weeks  thus   to   train 

her,  and  the  first  sign  of  reconciliation  to  her  imprisonment  was 
an  angry  movement  of  the  falces  when  he  touched  her,  whereas  previously 
she  used  to  run  away.^  He  also  speaks  of  startling  spiders  some  distance 
off  by  the  banging  of  a  door,  and  their  agitation  could  not  be  explained 
by  supposing  a  current  of  air;  nevertheless  it  easily  might  have  been  ex- 
plained by  the  agitation  of  the  door  jambs  communicated  through  the 
wall  to  the  web  of  the  spider,^  Other  examples  might  be  cited,  but  the 
above  are  sufficiently  typical,  and  will  answer  all  my  purposes. 

Now,  the  question   naturally  arises,  what  basis  of  fact  is  there  for  such 
a  consensus  of  belief?     Shall  we   dismiss  the  matter  by  simply  supposing 

that  all  the  individuals  concerned  deliberately  drew  upon  their  im- 
"^*^^  agination,  or  were  deceived?  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  a  certain 
,.  part  of   the  facts,  at  least.     It  is  noticeable  that  in   most  of  the 

above  accounts  the  hour  at  which  the  spiders  appeared  was  the 
evening,  or  just  before  evening.  This  is  a  most  natural  occurrence.  I 
have  sat  upon  an  open  porch  or  verandah,  and  as  the  afternoon  waned 
and  sunset  drew  near,  have  seen  spiders  descend  from  the  angles,  cornices, 
and  crevices  of  the  ceiling  and  roof,  and  spin  their  webs  in  the  open 
spaces  above  me.  They  seemed  to  hang  suspended  in  the  air,  without  any 
special  purpose,  and,  indeed,  one  who  did  not  take  pains  to  watch  them 
would  naturally  conclude  that  they  were  in  a  position  of  fixed  attention. 

It   is   customary  for   spiders,  particularly  Orb  weavers   and   Lineweavers, 
who  are  the  ones  to  which  such   manners  are  to  be  attributed,  to  descend 

in  this  maimer  and  present  this  attitude  as  the  evening  ap- 
Evenmg  preaches,  which  is  the  time  for  their  ordinary  activity.  To  be 
and  V  sure,  they  do  not  remain  thus  long,  but  proceed  to  make  their 
bration.     snares,  yet,  in  so  far,  the  stories  which  we  have  quoted  may  be 

considered  as  substantially  true.  The  persons  concerned  may 
have  seen  the  spiders  descend  at  the  evening  hour  and  hang  in  an  ap- 
parent attitude  of  attention. 

^  Apteres,  Vol.  I.,  page  110.  ^  Observations  on  Spiders,  F.  Maule  Campbell. 

^  Ibid.,  page  41. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  309 

The  question  may  further  be  raised,  did  the  music  have  any  effect  in 
promoting  tliis  habitual  behavior?  I  would  not  be  willing  to  affirm  it, 
but  it  is  not  improbable.  The  vibrations  of  air  caused  by  singing  and 
the  sounds  of  flute  or  violin  might  affect  spiders,  as  they  rested  upon  their 
webs  in  the  angles  and  corners  of  the  ceiling,  to  such  a  degree  as  to  im- 
press them  with  the  idea  that  insects  were  near.  No  doubt  there  is  some 
similarity  in  the  effects  produced  by  the  humming  of  insect's  wings  and 
the  vibration  of  musical  instruments.  It  is  not  irrational,  therefore,  to 
conclude  that  certain  spiders  may  have  been  influenced  by  musical  sounds 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  hasten  their  habitual  action.  But,  for  the  most 
part,  as  far  as  our  stories  are  to  be  regarded  as  credible,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  habit  alone  is  sufficient  to  account  for  the  alleged  conduct  of 
the  spiders. 

That  they  were  affected  by  the  music  to  the  degree  believed  and  re- 
ported is  not  credible ;  though  it  is  perfectly  natural  that,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, the  observers  should  have  so  believed.  Imagination  could 
have  gone  a  far  way  to  supply  the  details  and  picture  the  spiders  as 
gathering  around  the  table  or  head  of  the  performer  in  rapt  attention  to 
the  "concord  of  sweet  sounds."  As  for  the  rest,  one  knows  how  stories 
grow — how  a  spider  or  two  can  be  multiplied  into  a  dozen,  and  how  a 
dozen  can  readily  grow  into  a  hundred,  and  a  natural  action  be  involved 
in  mystery  or  exaggerated  into  marvel.  But,  however  we  dispose  of  these 
widely  disseminated  traditions,  one  thing  is  certain,  I  have  never  been 
able,  after  many  experiments  and  observations,  with  all  sorts  of  music, 
good  and  bad,  and  with  divers  instruments,  to  see  the  slightest  evidence 
that  spiders  are  in  the  least  sensitive  to  music. 

IX. 

Spiders  are  well  provided  with  the  means  of  feeling  the  slightest  move- 
ments of  their  webs  or  other  objects.  On  their  legs  and  palps  are  long, 
slender,  silken  hairs,  which  differ  from  others  in  that  they  are  attached 
to  a  small  disk  on  the  integument.^ 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  present  anatomical  details  of  the  organs  through 

which   the   sensations   analogous  to  smelling  and   hearing  are  conveyed  to 

the  nerves  of  spiders.     But  somewhat  has  been  written  upon  the 

u  1  cry  jj^g^^^gp^  ^j^(j    g^   reference   thereto  will   be   of   interest.      Dahl   has 

opened   the  way  in  a  contribution   upon   the  auditory  organs  of 

spiders, 2    and    this    has    been    freely   commented    upon    by   Mr.  Waldemar 

Wagner,  of  Moscow.^ 

'  Campbell,  Observations  on  Spiders, Trans.  Hertfordshire  Nat.  Hie.  Soc.,VoI.  I.,  1880,  page  40. 
2  Das  Gehor-  und  Geruchorgan  des  Spinnen,  Zool.  Anz.,  1883. 

^  Des  Polls  Nommes  Auditifs  chez  les  Araign^es.  Bull,  de  la  Societe  Imper.  des  Xatural- 
istes  de  Moscou,  1888. 


310 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Several  illustrations  of  the  types  of  hairs  known  as  auditory  are  here 
reproduced  from  the  latter  writer.  Their  character  is  well  enough  ex- 
plained in  the  legends  of  the  cuts,  but  a  brief  description  may  be  added. 
The  two  parts  of  the  hairs  are  distinguished  as  the  root  and  the  stalk  or 
shaft.  By  the  root  is  understood  that  portion  which  enters  the  cuticle, 
and  is  inserted  into  an  appropriate  pit;  by  the  stalk  the  free  part  of  the 
hair  which  extends  above  the  cuticle.  The  hairs  of  spiders,  both  by  their 
structure  and  their  root,  appear  to  be  divided  into  two  principal  types, 
perfectly  distinct.      One   sort   is   distinguished   by   a   root  which   is   much 

larger  than  the  portion  of  the  stalk  im- 
mediately above  it.  In  other  words,  the 
stalk  narrows  at  its  foot  to  swell  out 
again  into  a  much  enlarged  root,  thick- 
ened into  the  form  of  a  button  and  in- 
serted into  a  sac  like  cavity  of  the  skin. 
(See  Fig.  294.)  This  is  what  Wagner 
denominates  a  Tactile  hair,  proper.  The 
roots  of  the  other  sorts  of  hair  are  ordi- 
narily much  smaller,  as  compared  with 
their  stalks,  than  the  type  above  named. 
(See  Figs.  295  and  297,  r,  r,  compared 
with  Fig.  294,  r,  r.)  The  hair  pits  or 
follicles  enclosing  the  roots  are  also  more 
simply  constructed. 

Tactile  hairs  (polls  tactiles)  are  en- 
dowed with  extreme  sensibility,  as  is 
manifest  from  the  fact  that  the  lightest 
filament  of  silk  can  at  once  be  detected 
by  them  and  communicated  to  the  ani- 
mal. The  other  types  are  simpler  in 
their  structure  and,  perhaps,  their  func- 
tion. Dahl  does  not  make  any  distinc- 
tion between  the  hairs  of  the  different 
types,  and  names  them  all  auditory ;  but 
Wagner  distinguishes  the  hairs  into  three 
principal  types,  the  Tactile  hair,  including  one  of  finer  structure  (poll  tactil 
fin),  the  Beaded  hair  (poll  a  chapelet),  and  the  Clubshaped  hair  (poll 
cucurbitif  orme) . 

The  principles  that  led  Dahl  to  attribute  to  his  auditory  hairs  this 
function  rests  alone  upon  the  fact  that  the  waves  of  sound  set  them  into 
motion,  which  movement  is  borne  along  the  extremity  of  the  nerves  and 
provokes  the  sensation  of  sound. 

He  appears  to  attribute  the  same  function  to  all  the  types  of  hairs 
distinguished  by  Wagner.     In  this  opinion  the  latter  author  cannot  agree. 


K' 


nit. 


Fig.  294.  Transverse  section  of  a  Tactile  hair  in 
the  foot  of  a  spider.  (After  Wagner.)  ch,  1, 
2,  3,  4,  5,  layers  of  chitine ;  mt,  the  matrix  of 
the  hair ;  t,  tube  formed  by  the  inferior  layer 
of  the  cuticle  (ch.  5),  and  filled  with  plasm, 
pis;  pi,  fold  formed  by  the  tube  (t)  at  the 
level  of  the  first  layer  of  the  cuticle ;  t.r.s., 
inferior  part  of  the  basal  thickening  of  the 
fold;  t.r.a.,  its  superior  part;  r,  central  part 
of  the  radix  of  the  hair  ;  c,  papilla  ;  o,  orifice 
of  the  root  by  which  the  plasm  passes  from 
the  cavity  of  the  tube  into  the  cavity  of  the 
hair,  x ;  N,  the  nerve ;  p,  the  stalk  of  the 
hair ;  b,  the  annular  thickening  of  the  supe- 
rior layer  of  the  cuticle  surrounding  the  root 
of  the  thread. 


THE   SENSES   AND    THEIR   ORGANS. 


311 


but  thinks  that  the  functions  of  these  three  types  are  not  identical,  since 
being  found  upon  the  same  individual,  one  cannot  well  admit  that  three 
different  organs  are  constructed  for  the  same  physiological  role.  Might 
they  not,  however,  serve  for  different  degrees  of  the  same  function? 

Wagner  does  not  doubt  that  spiders  have  a  delicate  sense  of  hearing, 
but  the  objective  ground  on  which  he  rests  it  is  unreliable.  He  states 
it  as  "a  fact  known  to  all  biologists,"  that  in  order  to  entice  a  spider 
from  its  nest  or  den  it  is  only  necessary  to  cause  a  fly  to  buzz  near  it, 
while  an  unskillful  imitation  of  the 
buzzing  sound  fails  to  deceive  the  ara- 
nead.  On  the  contrary,  even  the  pres- 
ence of  flies  in  the  web  often  fails  to 
tempt  the  spider  forth ;  and  I  know 
that  unskillful  imitations  of  insects  have 
often  drawn  them  forth ;  but  such  imi- 
tations I  have  never  confined  to  sounds. 
They  are  only  or  chiefly  successful  when 
the  movement  is  communicated  to  the 
threads  of  the  web  itself. 

Wagner  admits  that  if  the  movement 
of  hairs  of  any  type  under  the  influence  ^■- 
of  sound  could  be  proved,  that  would 
suffice  to  assign  to  that  type  the  role  of 
an  auxiliary  auditory  organ,  at  least. 
But,  in  fact,  it  is  far  from  being  proved  ^^«-  ''"•  ^^""*'°,  ""L^  ^'ff^  hair    The  parts 

'  '  tor  corresponding  to  those  of  the  Tactile  hair  are 

that     sound     sets    the     so     called     auditory        marked  by  the  same  letters,     z,  an  eminence 

hairs  into  movement.     At  least  his  own 

experiments  failed  to  show  this.     By  the 

aid  of  an  electric  lantern  he  was  able  to 

throw  distinctly  upon  a  screen  figures  of 

a  row  of  auditory  hairs,  enlarged  to  the 

size  of  from  three  to  six  inches.     He  had 

prepared  a  fine  section  of  that  portion  of 

the  foot  which  is  provided  with  auditory 

hairs,  and  this  had  been  so  placed  as  to  allow  free  movement.     Sounds  of 

various  sorts  and  tones  were  then  produced  without  having  any  effect  upon 

the  shadows  on  the  screen. 

Suspecting  that  his  lack  of  success  might  be  due  to  the  dryness  of  his 
preparation,  he  replaced  it  with  a  foot  freshly  cut  from  a  living  spider. 
The  figiires  of  the  hairs  were  thrown  clearly  upon  the  screen,  and,  again, 
every  effort  to  cause  them  to  move  by  the  aid  of  sound  waves  was  unsuc- 
cessful. The  size  of  the  hairs  upon  the  screen  was  so  considerable  that 
the  least  vibration  would  be  perceived,  and,  therefore,  he  could  hardly  ad- 
mit that  the  failure  was  the  result  of  defect  in  his  experiment.     From  the 


around  the  superior  part  of  the  basal  thicken- 
ing of  the  fold  by  which  the  free  borders  are 
bent  ag^ainst  the  stalk  of  the  hair,  and  form  a 
little  external  pouch  which  is  situated  in  front 
of  the  large  external  pouch  ;  bo.e.,  cavity  of  the 
large  external  pouch;  r,  root  of  the  hair  with 
its  thickening  ;  p.t.r.,  section  of  the  walls  of  the 
external  pouch  by  which  the  inferior  part  of 
the  basal  thickening  of  the  fold  (t.r.s.)  is  set 
below ;  b,  wall  of  the  large  external  pouch,  cor- 
responding to  the  annular  elevation  of  the  first 
layer  of  chitine  in  a  Tactile  hair,  b,  Fig.  294. 


312 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


-j-st 


above  facts  he  concluded,  first,  that  the  function  of  the  three  types  of  hair 
above  described  cannot  be  recognized  as  identical ;  and,  second,  that  no  one 

of  these  types  can  be  regarded  as  an  auditory 
organ. 

But,  if  their  function  is  not  identical,  their 
fundamental  likeness  in  anatomical  structure 
gives  one  a  right  to  suppose  that  they  do  have 
a  function  more  or  less  analogous.  Wherein 
does  that  function  consist?  Mr.  Wagner  con- 
siders that  the  function  of  the  Tactile  hairs 
ought  to  be  more  perfect  than  that  of  the 
other  types,  because 
of  their  more  per- 
fect structure,  and 
that,  therefore,  they 
should  be  capable 
of  receiving  more 
delicate  excitations 
than  the  ordinary 
Tactile  hairs.  One 
use,  he  thinks,  may 
have  been  indicated 
by  Dahl,  who  re- 
marks that  the 
slightest  breath  of 
air  is  able  to  move 
the  auditory  hairs,  a 
fact  which  may  be 
readily  observed  ;  at  least,  that  spiders  are  always 
extremely  sensitive  to  the  slightest  puff  of  wind 
made  by  the  human  mouth.  There  may,  therefore, 
be  assigned  to  the  auditory  hairs  the  function  of 
transmitting  the  mechanical  movements  of  the  air. 
Wagner  again  raises  the  conjecture  that  the 
Beaded  and  Clubshaped  hairs  may  be  used  to  in- 
dicate the  state  of  the  weather ;  a  conjecture  which 
he  bases  upon  what  he  supposes  to  be  an  ac- 
cepted fact,  namely,  that  spiders  are  so  sensitive 
to  weather  changes  as  to  be  able  to  anticipate 
them,  and,  indeed,  to  prognosticate  them  by  their 
behavior.  That  this  is  a  widespread  belief  I  else- 
where indicate  (in  the  chapter  on  General  Habits) ; 
but  that  it  is  without  foundation,  I  think,  I  also  show ;  so  that  Mr.  Wagner's 


Fig.  296.  Section  of  a  fine  Tactile  hair, 
p,  the  stalk  of  a  hair ;  r,  the  superior 
thickening  of  the  root  in  the  cavity  of 
the  large  external  pouch  ;  bo.e.,  cavity 
of  the  large  external  pouch  ;  r^,  basal 
thickening  of  the  root  at  the  point  of 
its  junction  with  the  basal  fold  ;  z,  ele- 
vation upon  the  superior  part  of  the 
basal  thickening  of  the  fold  by  which 
the  free  borders  are  bent  against  the 
stalk  of  the  hair  and  form  a  little  ex- 
ternal pouch  ;  p.t.r.,  section  of  the 
walls  of  the  internal  pouch,  by  which 
the  inferior  part  of  the  basal  thicken- 
ing of  the  fold  (t.r.s.)  is  inserted  be- 
neath ;  b,  wall  of  the  large  external 
pouch,  corresponding  to  the  annular 
elevation  of  the  first  layer  of  chitine 
in  the  Tactile  hair.  The  other  parts 
corresponding  to  those  of  the  Tactile 
hair  are  marked  by  the  same  letters. 


Fig.  297.  Section  of  the  root  of  a 
Clubshaped  hair,  m,  the  club- 
shaped  blade  of  the  hair ;  st,  lon- 
gitudinal striations  of  the  blade ; 
z,  elevation  upon  the  superior 
part  of  the  basal  thickening  of 
the  fold  by  which  the  free  borders 
are  bent  against  the  stalk  of  the 
hair  and  form  a  little  external 
pouch ;  r,  root  of  the  hair,  with 
its  thickening;  p.t.r.,  section  of 
walls  of  the  internal  pouch  by 
which  the  inferior  part  of  the 
basal  thickening  of  the  fold  (t.r.s.) 
is  inserted  beneath ;  b,  walls  of 
the  large  external  pouch,  corre- 
sponding to  the  annular  eleva- 
tion of  the  first  layer  of  chitine 
in  the  Tactile  hair.  The  other 
parts  corresponding  to  those  of 
the  Tactile  hair  are  marked  by 
the  same  letters. 


suggestion  must  fall  to  the  ground  before  the  presence  of  facts  of  habit. 


THE    SENSES    AND    THEIK    ORGANS.  313 


My  own  opinion  is  that  all  these  various  types  of  hairs  may  be  re- 
garded, generally  speaking,  as  Tactile  hairs,  and  tliat  they  serve  to  com- 
municate to  the  spider  the  sensations  which  are  included  by  more  highly 
organized  animals  in  the  distinct  senses  of  touch  and  hearing,  and,  I 
might  add,  of  smell. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  can  be  nothing  contrary  to  this  view  in  the 
fact  of  differences  in  the  forms  of  hairs,  if  we  suppose  that  the  several 
types  may  indicate  some  differentiation  in  the  character  of  touch  sensa- 
tions communicated  by  them,  so  that  a  spider  may  be  able  to  distinguish 
between  the  agitations  of  the  air  caused  by  ordinary  movements  of  the 
wind  and  the  impressions  of  waves  of  sound,  and  those  sensations  which 
result  from  touch  proper,  as  the  undulatory  motion  of  surfaces  on  which 
a  spider  rests,  or  the  agitation  of  the  web  upon  which  it  hangs  and  the 
trapping  thread  to  which  it  holds  as  it  lurks  within  its  den.  In  other 
words,  there  are  differences  in  the  sensations  produced  by  the  organs  of 
touch,  but  these  have  not  been  so  far  differentiated  as  to  justify  us  in 
distinguishing  any  of  them  as  organs  of  hearing. 

Mr.  Wagner  calls  attention  to  facts  which  may  lead  up,  after  wider 
study,  to  important  conclusions.  He  says  that  the  Orbweavers  (Epeiridse) 
and  Lineweavers  (Therididse),  for  example,  only  possess  these  hairs  upon 
the  tibia  and  metatarsus;  while  the  Wanderers  have  them  not  only  more 
numerously  on  the  tibia  and  metatarsus,  but  also  upon  the  tarsus.  We 
perhaps  may  not  accept  Mr.  Wagner's  opinion  that  the  Wanderers  are  ex- 
posed to  far  greater  dangers  than  the  Sedentaries,  but  certainly  there  is  a 
difference  in  the  form  in  which  the  dangers  approach  them,  as  well  as  in 
the  character  of  the  dangers.  The  greater  number  of  Tactile  hairs  on  the 
legs  of  Wanderers  may  perhaps  be  associated  with  the  fact  that  they  do 
not  rest  upon  a  web,  but  come  in  contact  with  the  ground  and  the  vari- 
ous surfaces  on  which  they  lurk  for  prey.  Their  feet  also  are  used,  at 
least  in  some  cases,  for  digging  holes  in  the  earth  and  for  other  uses  which 
are  not  habitual  to  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers.  Moreover,  Sedentary  spi- 
ders, hanging  on  their  webs  by  their  feet,  need  a  concentration  of  sense 
organs  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  claws  or  tips  of  the  tarsus ;  and  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  Sedentaries  are  well  provided  in  this  respect,  and 
are  thus  able  to  detect  the  slightest  motion  that  runs  along  the  lines  of 
their  snares  when  agitated  by  insects  or  by  raiding  enemies.  However, 
we  must  confess  that  here  we  are  largely  in  the  region  of  conjecture,  but 
the  manner  of  life  among.  Wanderers,  one  would  suppose,  naturally  re- 
quires a  better  physical  organization,  inasmuch  as  they  are  not  provided 
with  the  habit  which  constructs  trapping  instruments  for  the  accession  of 
prey  and  the  defense  of  their  persons.  In  other  words,  it  may  be  that  the 
presence  of  additional  sensation  hairs  upon  the  Wanderers  is  a  compensa- 
tion for  the  lack  of  industrial  facilities. 

Mr.  Wagner    has    also    found   some    interesting    facts    concerning    the 


314  AMERICAN    SPIDERS    AND    THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 

development  of  these  Tactile  hairs.  Immediately  after  hatching  from  the 
eggs,  Attus  terebratus  has  none  of  these  organs  upon  its  tarsus  or  metatar- 
sus, and  only  one  upon  the  tibia.  Lycosa  saccata  when  first  hatched  has 
not  a  single  Tactile  hair.  After  the  second  moult,  however,  both  these 
species  acquire  one  hair  upon  the  tarsus,  two  upon  the  metatarsus,  and 
two  upon  the  tibia.  Lycosa  saccata  when  adult  has  four  hairs  upon  the 
tarsus,  nine  of  such  hairs  on  the  metatarsus,  and  seven  on  the  tibia.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  with  the  development  of  the  spider,  and  thus 
with  the  approach  of  need  for  sensation  organs,  Nature  causes  those  organs 
to  appear.  The  young  spider  has  no  need  of  food,  as  it  subsists  upon  the 
nourishment  provided  by  the  mother  in  the  egg.  It  is  not  until  after  its 
first  moult  or  two  that  Nature  requires  it  to  set  up  housekeeping  for  itself, 
and  capture  its  own  prey.  This  is  true  of  the  Sedentaries.  The  Wander- 
ers, at  least  some  of  them,  live  with  the  mother  until  the  first  moult  has 
been  made. 

X. 

Are  spiders  mute?  The  question  is  one  of  much  interest,  whether  con- 
sidered from  the  standpoint  of  the  relation  between  the  sexes,  or 
■^^f  the  number  and  nature  of   the  senses.     The  amount  of   informa- 

■jyp  ,  r,  tion  possessed  upon  this  subject  is  scarcely  sufficient  to  warrant 
a  decided  opinion,  but  such  as  I  have  will  be  presented. 

At  the  outset,  it  may  be  suggested  that,  reasoning  from  analogy,  we 
would  expect  to  find  in  spiders  some  mode  of  stridulation.  The  subking- 
dom  of  Arthropoda,  to  which  they  belong,  has  at  its  head  the  Insecta, 
among  which  are  many  genera  whose  species  are  characterized  by  their 
power  to  stridulate.  In  illustration  of  this,  any  frequenter  of  our  fields 
and  forests  will  recall  the  rolling  drumming  of  the  harvest  fly  or  cicada, 
which  may  be  heard  in  vast  and  confusing  notes  when  the  seventeen  year 
locust,  as  it  is  popularly  called  (Cicada  septendecim),  makes  one  of  its 
periodical  appearances,  and  covers  the  trees  with  hosts  of  insects.  The 
cheerful  creaking  of  "  the  cricket  on  the  hearth,"  which  has  passed  into 
our  proverbs  and  poetry,  is  an  example  of  stridulation.  The  shrilling  of 
the  grasshopper,  locust,  and  field  cricket  are  other  well  known  examples. 
Professor  Wood-Mason  has  discovered  stridulating  organs  in  the  Phasmidse.^ 
These  were  seen  in  a  species  of  Pterinoxylus,  the  stridulating  organs  being 
fixed  partly  on  the  wings  and  partly  on  the  tegmina,  like  the  Orthopterous 
iEdipoda  described  by  Scudder.^ 

In  these  cases  it  has  commonly  been  regarded,  and  is  probably  true, 
that  the  stridulating  instruments  are  exclusively  possessed  by  the  males, 
and  that  the  sound  is  in  some  way  intended  as  a  call  to  his  mate.     This 

^  Proceedings  London  Entomological  Society,  1877,  page  xxix. 
2  American  Naturalist,  Vol.  II.,  page  113. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  315 


fact  has  long  been  known,  as  is  evident  from  the  old  witticism  attributed 
to  the  incorrigible  Rhodian  sensualist  Xenarchus,  who  alludes  in 

T  ^C  n  ^^^  following  terms  to  the  cause  of  that  great  happiness  which 
was  popularly  attributed  to   these   insects,  and  which  seemed  to 

the  common  folk  to  make  them  apt  images  of  the  gods : — 

"  Happy  the  Cicadas'  lives, 
Since  they  all  have  voiceless  wives !  "  ^ 

The  fact  here  noted  is  probably  true  of  insects  generally,  as  in  most 
cases  females  cannot  utter  sounds,  and  stridulating  organs  are  limited  to 
males.  Yet  there  are  some  exceptions  which  add  perplexity  as 
,.  well  as  interest  to   the    problem.     For   example,  the   stridulating 

organs  possessed  by  the  Phasmidse  above  alluded  to  are,  accord- 
ing to  Professor  Wood-Mason,  found  in  the  females,  thus  furnishing  a  case 
in  which  functional  stridulating  organs  are  present  with  that  sex.  Another 
example  of  power  to  stridulate  on  the  part  of  female  insects  is  that  of 
Cicada  montana.^ 

Passing  to  the  other  extreme  of  the  Arthropods,  we  find  examples  of 
stridulating  among  Crustaceans  and  Scorpions.  Mr.  Darwin,  alluding  to 
stridulation  among  spiders  as  recorded  by  Professor  Westring,  makes  the 
remark  that  this  is  the  first  case  known  to  him,  in  the  ascending  scale  of 
the  animal  kingdom,  of  sounds  emitted  for  this  purpose.^  But  we  are 
now  able  to  embrace  other  Arthropods  among  the  music  making  animals 
belonging  to  the  lower  orders. 

Mr.  J.  Sackville  Kent  discovered  sound  producing  properties  in  a  Crus- 
tacean, a  species  of  Spheroma.  He  was  not  able  to  ascertain  the  exact 
method  in  which  the  sound  was  produced,  nor  whether  the  ani- 
Stridu-  jj^^Y  has  organs  specially  adapted  for  the  purpose.  On  numerous 
^  ^  occasions,  however,  he  heard  the  sound  made  by  this  little  creat- 
ceans.  ^^^>  ^  Crustacean  scarcely  one-fourth  of  an  inch  long.  The  ani- 
mal was  confined  withiji  a  glass  jar,  of  which  it  was  the  only 
occupant,  and  the  noise  made  was  a  little  sharp  tapping  sound,  produced 
three  or  four  times  consecutively,  with  intervals  of  about  one  second's 
duration. 

The  observer  could  almost  exactly  imitate  it  by  striking  the  side  of 
the  jar  with  the  pointed  end  of  a  pipette.  The  character  and  intensity 
of  the  sound  produced,  associated  with  the  small  size  of  the  animal,  in- 
duced him  to  believe  that  it  was  caused  by  the  sudden  flexion  and  ex- 
tension of  the  creature's  body.* 

^  See  Cowan's  Curious  History  of  Insects,  page  250. 

2  See  Trans.  Lond.  Soc,  1877,  page  xvi. 

^  Descent  of  Man,  Vol.  II.,  American  Edition,  Chapter  IX.,  page  330. 

*  Nature,  November  1st,  1877,  page  11.    See  also  Proc.  Lond.  Ent.  Soc,  1877,  page  xxvii. 


316  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


On  this  communication  Professor  Wood-Mason  remarks  that  the  sound 
producing  organs  in  Crustacea  are  paired  organs,  as  in  Scorpions,  Mygalse, 

and  Phasmidae ;  that  is  to  say,  organs  working  independently  of 
Stridulat-  qc^q\^  otlier  on  each  side  of  the  body.  They  are  differently  seated 
ing-     p-     ^^,  situated  in  various  genera,  but   in  all  cases   appear- to  consist 

of  what  may  be  called  a  scraper  and  a  rasp,  and  the  sound  is 
produced  by  rubbing  together  these  two  organs,  which  constitute  the  strid- 
ulating  apparatus. 

Professor  Mason  has  also  announced  the  discovery  of  stridulating  organs 
in  Scorpions.     This  appeared  from  the  study  of  the  anatomy,  but  the  matter 

was  placed  beyond  doubt  by  observations  made  at  Bombay.  Two 
Scorpions  |j^j,gg  living  scorpions,  procured  from  Hindustani  conjurors,  were 
,   ,        "      fixed  face  to  face  on  a  light   metal  table  and   goaded  into  fury. 

At  once  they  commenced  to  beat  the  air  with  their  palps,  and 
simultaneously  to  emit  sounds  which  were  distinctly  audible,  not  only  to  the 
observer,  but  also  to  bystanders.  They  were  heard  above  the  flutter  made 
by  the  animals  in  their  efforts  to  get  free,  and  resembled  the  noise  pro- 
duced by  continuously  scraping  with  one's  fingers  bits  of  silk  fabric  or  a 
stiff  tooth  brush.  The  stridulating  apparatus  in  this  species  is  developed 
on  each  side  of  the  body;  the  scraper  is  situated  upon  the  flat  outer  face 
of  the  basal  joint  of  the  palp  fingers,  the  rasp  on  the  equally  flat  and  pro- 
duced inner  face  of  the  corresponding  joint  of  the  first  pair  of  legs.^ 

It-  is  thus  found  that  from  one  extreme  of  the  Arthropods,  the  Insecta, 
where  stridulation  is  frequent,  through  the  Scorpions,  and  to  the  opposite 
extreme,  the  Crustaceans,  the  habit  of  producing  sounds,  for  'whatever  pur- 
pose, is  to  be  found.  We  therefore  have  a  strong  basis  in  analogy  for  the 
belief  that  similar  organs  might  be  found  among  the  spiders,  animals  that 
rank  between  these  extremes. 

XI. 

In  point  of  fact,  such  organs  have  been  found.  The  Swedish  nat- 
uralist Westring  was  the  first  to  discover  them,  and  his  observations  are 
accessible  to  the  general  reader  in  his  valuable  work  upon  Swedish 
Spiders. 2  He  appends  this  observation  to  his  description  of  "  Theridion 
serratipes."  The  abdomen  of  the  male,  around  the  cord  by  which  it  is 
united  to  the  thorax,  is  armed  with  a  denticulated  coat,  whose  use  West- 
ring  had  often  puzzled  over.  At  length  he  fortunately  discov- 
West-  gj.g^  ^j^g^l^  ^j^jg  valve  is  an  instrument  for  stridulation.  At  the 
CO  very  ^^^®  ^^  ^^^  thorax  the  aranead  is  armed  with  transverse,  most 
delicately  wrinkled  striations,  which  are  applied  by  the  animal 
for  the  producing  of  sound,  as  among  insects.  This  sound  Westring  heard 
when  the  spider  was  squeezed  slightly;  then,  either  freely  or  when  touched 

1  Proc.  Ent.  Soc.  Lond.,  1877,  xviii.  ^  Aranese  Svecicse,  page  175. 


THE   SENSES   AND    THEIR   ORGANS.  317 

with  the  fingers  near  the  apex  of  the  abdomen,  he  moved  his  abdomen  up 
and  down,  and  its  base  or  the  serrated  valve  near  the  base  of  the  thorax 
was  rubbed  upon.  The  female  of  the  species  does  not  possess  these  or- 
gans. ^ 

Mr.  F.  Maule  Campbell  ^  has  taken  up  these  observations  of  Westring, 

and  in  a  valuable  and   interesting  paper  added  much  to  our  information. 

He  made  special   studies,  both  of  the  male  and  female  of  Stea- 

Stridula-    ^^^^  guttata  and  Steatoda  bipunctata.     In  the  fore  extremity  of 

•j^  -J        the  abdomen  he  found,  in  the  male  of  Guttata,  that  the  socket 
ridioids.  '  ,  .  . 

is  a  complete  ring  with  some  strong  chitmous  spurs  on  the  in- 
side of  its  external  edge  (Fig.  299),  which  is  also  roughly  serrated.  That 
of  the  female  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  inferior  being  smallest,  while 
the  superior,  as  in  the  male,  is  the  deepest.  In  the  female  (Fig.  298) 
there  are  no  spurs.  The  inner  edge,  however,  is  undulated,  and  in  points 
becomes  angulated,  while  a  little  below  are  stiff  hairs  on  small  protuber- 
ances.     The   chitinous*  thoracic   extension   of   the   male   is   marked   on    its 


Fig.  298.  Fig.  299.  Fic.  300. 

The  stridulating  organs  of  Steatoda  guttata,  male  and  female.    (After  Campbell.) 
Fig.  298.    Female ;  view  from  above,  of  chitinous  ring  or  socket  attached  to  abdo- 
men, covering  the  union  with  thorax.        Fig.  299.    The  same  part  of  the  male. 
Fig.  300.    View  from  above  of  chitinous  extension  of  thorax  of  female. 

superior  surface  with  many  fine,  parallel,  transverse  grooves,  which  are 
absent  in  the  female.  (Fig.  300.)  In  the  same  position  on  both  sexes  are 
several  ridges  which  are  less  numerous  in  the  male.  Thus,  it  appears 
that  while  it  is  likely  that  individuals  may  vary  in  details,  the  female  of 
Steatoda  guttata  has  organs  adapted  to  stridulation,  as  well  as  the  male. 

Mr.  Campbell  also  examined  both  sexes  of  Steatoda  bipunctata,  and 
found  that  the  socket  of  the  male  is  much  shallower  than  those  of  the 
male  and  female  of  Guttata.  The  inside  of  the  external  edge  is  rough, 
and  the  sides  are  lined  with  a  row  of  bristles  seated  on  prominences.  The 
only  opposing  surface  is  a  spinate  ridge  on  the  base  of  the  thorax,  which 


^  Since  this  original  discovery  Westring  liad  heard  many  males  of  Theridium  and  Stea- 
toda stridulating.  Among  these  he  mentions  Theridium  castaneiim  Clerck,  Theridium  (Stea- 
toda) bipunetatum  (i>age  185),  Theridium  liammatum,  Tlieridium  albumaculatum  (page  186), 
Theridium  (Steatodos)  guttatum  (page  188). 

^  On  Supposed  Stridulating  Organs  of  Steatoda  guttata  and  Linyphia  tenebricola,  Linn. 
Soc.  Jour.  Zool.,  Vol.  XV.,  1880,  page  152. 


318  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

has  no  chitinous  extension  covering  the  abdominal  union.  In  the  female 
of  this  species,  unlike  Guttata,  there  is  no  trace  of  these  organs. 

Of  course,  any  sounds  which   might   be   produced   by  the   organs   thus 

described,  must  be   occasioned   by   the   flexion   and   extension   of    the   two 

principal  parts  of  the  body;  that  is  to  say,  by  the  drawing  back 

?^°^  ,        and  forward,  within  the  socket,  of  the  cartilaginous  pedicle  which 

are  Made  connects  the  thorax  with  the  abdomen.     But  Mr.  Campbell  has 

also   discovered   an   apparatus  which   he  ventures   to  call  stridu- 

lating,   seated  on  the  falces  and   palps   in  both    sexes  of   Linyphia   tene- 

brosus.^     These  are  of  a  different  structure  from  those 

heretofore  described.     On  the  outer   side  of   the  basal 

joint  of  each  falx  are  about  twenty  parallel  transverse 

chitinous  bands,  placed  so  that  their  inferior  edges  are 

free.     (Fig.    301.)     The   effect,  when  viewed   from   the 

front,  is  that  each  falx  has  a  distinctly  serrated  outer 

edge,  which   becomes  more  and 'more   decided   towards 

FIG.  301.  FIG.  302.      ^Y,G    baSC. 

Fig.  301.    Right  falx  of  Lin-  ,  .  •       .i      .       i-    j.i         i  ^     •    •    ± 

yphia  tenebricoia,  male,  1  he  opposiug  suriacc  IS  that  01   the  humcral  joint 

viewed  obliquely  from  the  ^f   g^ch   palpus   (Fig.    302),  which    is   marked   with   a 

right  side.    Fig.  302.    Hu-  i  i  n 

merai  joint  of  left  palp,   luorc   or   Icss    regular    scrics   of   curved    grooves   deep 
showing  spines  on  the   gj-^Qugh  to  givc  the  appearance  of  serration  on  its  side 

inside  alone,  and  at  the  o  o  r  jt 

top  the  horny  plate.  (Af-   uudcr  a  two-third  objectivc.     On  the  under  side  of  this 
ter  Campbell.)  joiut,  closc  to  its  basc,  is  a  curvcd  enlargement,  and  on 

the  top  a  prominent,  horny,  somewhat  triangular,  knob  like  plate,  with  a 
rounded  apex.  This  differs  in  form,  size,  elevation,  and  position  from  the 
chitinous  prominences  usually  seen  in  connection  with  spines,  of  which 
there  is  one  near  each  side,  but  of  which,  in  some  individuals,  it  is  inde- 
pendent. 

The  above  described  organs  persist  in  all  adult  members  of  this  species; 
but  those  on  the  palps  of  females  are  not  so  highly  developed,  the  chief 
difference  being  the  size  of  the  enlargement  at  the  base  of  the  third  joint. 
When  confined  in  a  glass  tube,  Mr.  Campbell  observed  that  these  spiders 
often  move  their  palps  backward  and  forward,  with  a  slight  rotary  motion, 
in  such  a  manner  that  the  horny  plate  crosses  the  bands  on  the  falces. 
But  he  had  been  unable,  even  with  the  aid  of  the  microphone,  to  detect 
sounds  in  connection  with  these  movements. 

Mr.  Campbell  adds  the  suggestion  that  the  absence  of  specialized  stridu- 
lating  organs  in  most  Aranese  does  not  imply  that  they  are  mute.  It  is  a 
common  practice  with  many  to  rub  the  falces  against  the  maxillse ;  and 
were  the  serrated  edge  of  these  latter  found  in  another  part  of  the  body, 
similarly  opposed  to  a  hard,  toothed,  chitinous  surface,  it  is  most  likely 
they  would  be  pronounced  stridulating  organs. ^ 

^  Linyphia  terricola  Blkw.,  or  Linyphia  tennuis  Blkw.        ^  Op.  cit.,  page  155. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  319 


Another  account  of  organs  of  stridulation  in   spiders   is  that  observed 

by  Mr.  S.  E,  Peal  in  the  great  stridulating  Mygale  of  Assam,  and  brought 

to   notice  by   Prof.  James  Wood-Mason.  ^     Mr.   Peal's  account   is 

yga  e      ^j^^^  ^j^^  noise  is  made  by  the  tarantula  when  in  a  state  of  great 

ftr'Plfill- 

lans  excitement,  particularly  at   the  presence  of  some  enemy.     When 

thus  roused,  the  spider  usually  rested  on  the  four  posterior  legs, 
raising  the  other  four  and  shaking  them  in  the  air,  with  the  thorax 
thrown  up  almost  at  right  angles  to  the  abdomen,  and  the  palps  in  rapid 
motion.  The  noise  made  is  both  peculiar  and  loud.  It  resembles  that 
made  by  pouring  out  small  shot  upon  a  plate  from  a  height  of  a  few 
inches,  or  perhaps  by  drawing  the  back  of  a  knife  along  the  edge  of  a 
strong  comb.  The  stridulation  was  very  distinct,  and  had  a  ring  about 
it  which  the  observer  had  never  noticed  in  the  stridulation  of  orthopterous 
insects,  wherein  it  more  closely  resembles  a  whistling  sound. 

Professor  Wood-Mason,  who  reported  Mr.  Peal's  statement  to  the  London 
Entomological  Society,  ^  remarks  that  the  sound  apparatus  in  Mygale  stridu- 
lans  has  been  found  to  consist,  first,  of  a  comb  composed  of  a  number  of 
highly  elastic  and  indurated,  globe  shaped,  chitinous  rods,  arranged  close 
together  on  the  inner  face  of  the  basal  joint  of  the  palp ;  and,  second,  of 
a  scraper  formed  by  an  irregular  row  of  sharp  erect  spines  on  the  outer 
surface  of  the  penultimate  joint  of  the  palps.  He  further  states  that  it 
is  equally  developed  in  both  sexes,  the  first  specimen  met  with  by  Mr. 
Peal  having  been  a  gigantic  female. 

In  the  spiders  alluded  to  by  Westring,  the  stridulating  apparatus  con- 
sists, as  we  have  seen,  of  a  serrated  ridge"  at  the  base  of  the  abdomen, 
against  which  the  hard  hinder  part  of  the  thorax  is  rubbed,  and  of  this 
structure  not  a  trace  could  be  detected  in  the  females. 

Professor  Mason  agrees  with  Mr.  Darwin  and  Professor  Westring  in 
feeling  almost  sure  that  the  stridulation  made  by  these  spiders  serves  as 
a  call  to  the  female.  It  is  manifest,  however,  that  if  the  sound  serve  this 
purpose  in  the  Mygale,  it  must  serve  as  a  mutual  call,  the  apparatus  being 
present  in  both  sexes.  Professor  Wood-Mason  further  ventures 
Q  . ,  °  the  suggestion  that  the  sounds  are  emitted  by  the  spider  in  self 
lation  defense ;  that  is,  to  render  itself  terrible  in  the  eyes  of  its  ene- 
mies; or,  it  may  be  from  fear.  He  thinks  that  they  may  also  be 
serviceable  to  the  spider  in  terrifying  its  prey ;  and,  further,  that  during  its 
nocturnal  rambles  in  quest  of  food,  it  may  warn  the  creatures  that  it 
preys  upon  of  its  dangerous  and  deadly  nature,  as,  for  example,  is  the 
case  with  the  rattles  upon  the  tail  of  our  American  rattlesnake. 

Of  course,  the  presence  of  stridulating  organs,  if  they  be  regarded  as 
sound  producing  organs,  naturally  infers  the  presence  of  auditory  organs. 

1  Proc.  Asiatic  Soc.  Beng.,  1876,  and  Ann.  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  1876. 

2  Transactions,  1877,  page  282. 


320 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  303  (upper  figure).    A  Tarantula  rampant,  just  before  striking. 
Fit;.  304  (lower  figure).    Tarantula  in  act  of  striking. 


THE   SENSES   AND   THEIR   ORGANS.  321 

If  we  suppose  that  the  species  of  spiders  in  which  the  male  is  provided 
with  stridulating  apparatus,  possesses  it  for  utility  in  courtship,  and  uses 
it  for  love  calls,  as  is  generally  thought  is  the  case  with  orthopterous  in- 
sects, then  we  must  also  suppose  that  auditory  organs  exist,  at  least  in  the 
female  spider.  In  other  words,  spiders  are  not  deaf;  they  can  hear.  It 
is  true  that  distinct  auditory  organs  have  never  been  found,  at  least  have 
never  been  recognized  as  such,  and,  if  spiders  hear,  they  must  hear  by 
means  of  sense  organs  widely  different  from  any  possessed  by  animals  that 
liave  the  power  of  hearing. 

If,  further,  we  suppose  that  tliose  species  wherein  stridulating  organs  are 
possessed  in  common  by  male  and  female,  use  them  to  make  mutual  calls, 
like  the  notes  of  birds  or  like  the  sounds  uttered  by  higher  vertebrate  an- 
imals, then  we  are  also  to  infer  the  power  of  hearing  in  the  male  as  well 
as  in  the  female. 

This  much,  at  least,  appears  reasonably  certain,  that  the  theory  that 
the  organs  above  described  are  proper  organs  of  stridulation,  whose  pur- 
pose is  to  produce  sounds  that  will  be  heard  by  the  opposite  sex,  is  de- 
pendent upon  the  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  spiders  possess  organs  of 
hearing.  If  we  are  able  to  affirm  the  presence  of  auditory  organs  in  spi- 
ders, we  may  then  conclude  that  the  way  at  least  is  open  for  the  theory 
that  stridulating  organs  are  common  for  mutual  communication  by  sound 
between  the  sexes.  Until  this  be  established,  the  theory  rests  upon  a  very 
uncertain  foundation. 

Concerning  the  observations  upon  the  stridulating  Mygale  described  by 
Mr.  Peal,  and  announced  by  Professor  Wood-Mason,  I  would  remark  that 
I  have  kept  for  many  years  in  succession  living  species  of  both 
J,  ,. ,  males  and  females  of  the  large  Mygalidse.  One  of  these  (Eury- 
pelma  hentzii)  I  had  in  my  possession  for  a  period  of  nearly  six 
years,  and  one  living  at  this  date  has  been  with  me  about  five  years.  I 
have  often  seen  them  assume  the  attitude  described  by  Mr.  Peal.  When 
I  have  tested  their  appetite  for  small  vertebrates  by  putting  mice  into  their 
artificial  home,  or  have  given  them  large  insects,  as  locusts,  or  when  I 
have  teased  them  with  a  pencil,  or  annoyed  them  in  any  way,  it  is  their 
invariable  habit  to  throw  themselves  into  the  rampant  position  which 
Mr.  Peal  has  described  and  illustrated.  This  position  I  have  frequently 
sketched  from  various  points  of  view,  and  from  some  of  these  sketches 
Figs.  303  and  304  have  been  engraved.  But  in  all  these  cases  I  have 
never  heard  any  other  sound  than  that  which  I  regarded  as  the  clatter- 
ing of  the  fangs  as  they  were  struck  together  in  the  movements  of  the 
mandibles  under  the  powerful  influence  of  hunger  or  fear.  No  sound  that 
I  could  at  all  regard  from  any  other  standpoint  has  it  ever  been  my  op- 
portunity to  detect.  Such  negative  evidence,  of  course,  amounts  to  little — 
amounts  to  nothing,  indeed — in  the  face  of  positive  testimony.  I  only 
state  it  as  serving  to  qualify   any  conclusions  whicli  we  may  be  disposed 


322  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

to  make  as  to  the  actual  cause  and  intention  of  the  sounds  which  some- 
times are  heard  to  issue  from  spiders  in  a  condition  of  excitement. 

The  method  of  the  tarantula  in  attacking  its  prey  is  similar  to  that 
of  Lycosids  and  other  spiders.     It  throws  itself  upon  the  four  hind  legs, 

draws  back  its  cephalothorax  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  accord- 
How  Ta-  jj-,g  ^Q  ^jjg  nearness  of  its  adversary,  raises  the  two  front  pairs 
^^.^  ^      of   legs  and  the   palps,  and,  holding  them  well   together,  throws 

them  backward,  opens  wide  the  tremendous  fangs  and  the  man- 
dibles, which  are  held  straight  out  from  the  face,  and  then  at  the  proper 
moment  launches  itself  forward  (Fig.  304),  striking  its  adversary  with  its 
fore  claws  and  fangs.  The  stroke  will  be  repeated  a  number  of  times 
with  great  rapidity,  and  after  each  stroke  the  tarantula  falls  back  into  the 
rampant  position  above  described.     (Fig.  303.) 

I  am  hardly  able  to  give  serious  credence  to  Professor  Mason's  theory 
that  the  stridulating  organs,  like  the  rattles  upon  a  rattlesnake's  tail,  are 
intended  to  give  warning  to  victims.  Even  if  we  were  to  suppose  that 
the  large  insects  and  other  creatures  fed  upon  by  these  spiders  are  able 
to  detect  such  sounds  and  recognize  their  meaning,  I  cannot  think,  in  the 
face  of  "my  long  continued  observations  of  living  species  in  confinement, 
and  the  few  observations  made  in  the  state  of  Nature,  that  they  do  utter 
sounds  sufficiently  distinct  to  cause  anything  like  terror  on  the  part  of 
intended  victims.  I  never  saw  an  insect  fed  to  ray  tarantulas  that  showed 
the  least  sign  of  fear  or  even  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy. 


CHAPTER   XL 

COLOR  AND  THE  COLOR  SENSE. 

The  popular  impression  that  spiders  are  extremely  ugly  is  deeply 
seated.  Even  specialists  in  other  branches  of  natural  history  are  apt  to  ex- 
press surprise  when  one  speaks  of  high  ornamentation  among  araneads. 
Butterflies  are  commonly  thought  to  have  special  claims  to  beauty,  and 
without  disputing  these  one  may  truthfully  say  that  as  fair  and  brilliant 
colors  may  be  found  among  the  Aranese  as  among  the  Lepidoptera.  I 
suppose  the  popular  impression  to  the  contrary  is  largely  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  spiders  which  frequent  our  cellars  and  outhouses,  and  straggle 
occasionally  inside  our  homes,  belong  to  the  genera  whose  colors  are 
rather  inconspicuous.  Possibly,  contact  with  human  beings  has  tended  to 
demoralize  these  species,  and  thus  disrobe  them  of  colors  which  once  may 
have  made  them  attractive! 


One  does  not  need  to  go  to  the  tropics  for  examples  of  richly  colored 
spiders.  Our  indigenous  Orb  weavers  furnish  species  whose  coloring  may 
well  challenge  the  admiration  of  lovers  of  the  beautiful.  This 
„^P,  °  will  be  abundantly  illustrated  by  the  plates  prepared  for  Volume 
Colors  ^^^-  ^^  ^^^^  work,  but  several  examples  are  presented  in  this 
volume,  as  those  on  Plates  I.  and  IV.  Our  two  indigenous  spe- 
cies of  Argiope  have  bright  colors,  Cophinaria  being  at  once  distinguished 
by  her  size  and  prominent  black,  yellow,  and  brown  markings,  and  Argy- 
raspis  adding  to  these  a  metallic  white  which  in  earlier  stages  of  her  life 
has  a  noticeable  lustre. 

Epeira  insularis  is  well  known  among  familiars  of  our  fields  by  her 
attractive  yellow  and  orange  colors ;  and  the  varied  and  beautiful  robing 
of  the  Shamrock  spider  is  well  illustrated  by  the  specimens  presented  in 
Plate  L 

Yet  these  are  far  excelled  in  beauty  and  brilliancy  by  the  Orchard 
spider,  and  the  remarkable  aranead,  Argiope  argenteola  (Plate  IV.,  Fig,  6), 
which  is  found  in  the  southwestern  portions  of  the  United  States.  The 
genus  Acrosoma  also  presents  several  species  whose  attractive  coloring  makes 
them  worthy  of  notice  in  this  connection,  and  Gasteracantha  (Plate  IV., 
Fig.  8)  is  often  well  decorated. 

(323) 


324  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

Many  Theridioids  also  bear  beautiful  and  delicate  colors,  the  varied 
hues  and  shades  of  green,  yellow,  and  brown  being  particularly  noticeable 
in  this  group.  Some  of  the  genera,  as  the  parasitic  species  of 
eau  1  u  ^pgypQ(jgg^  are  covered  with  burnished  silver.  Of  these  two 
tribes  of  Sedentary  spiders  it  may  be  affirmed  that  they  contain, 
in  all  portions  of  the  world,  and  particularly  in  tropical  countries,  exam- 
ples of  as  delicate  and  brilliant  coloring  as  may  be  found  elsewhere  in 
Nature. 

But  the  coloring  of  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers  is  probably  even  ex- 
ceeded by  that  of  the  Saltigrades,  which  is  as  rich  as  that  of  humming- 
birds or  beetles,  according  to  Professor  and  Mrs.  Peckham.  The  most  bril- 
liant family  of  this  tribe,  the  Attidae,  especially,  contains  examples  of 
brilliant  ornamentation.  Of  some  of  these  araneads  Wallace  says  that  they 
are  noticeable  for  their  immense  numbers,  variety,  and  beauty.  They  fre- 
quent foliage  and  flowers,  run  about  actively  in  pursuit  of  small  insects, 
and  many  of  them  are  so  exquisitely  colored  as  to  resemble  jewels  rather 
than  spiders.^  Elsewhere  he  speaks  of  the  abundance  and  variety  of  the 
little  jumping  spiders  whicli  abound  on  flowers  and  foliage,  and  are  often 
perfect  gems  of  beauty.  ^  Most  travelers  in  South  America  who  have  care- 
fully observed  aranead  life,  agree  with  Bates  that  the  number  of 
J  ,  spiders  ornamented  with  showy  colors  is  remarkable.^  Professor 
Peckham  makes  the  strong  assertion,  which  my  own  experience 
confirms,  that  a  large  collection  of  spiders  from  the  tropics  is  almost 
certain  to  contain  as  great  a  proportion  of  beautifully  colored  specimens 
as  would  be  found  among  an  equal  number  of  birds  from  the  same  re- 
gion.* 

Some  of  the  Laterigrades  also  are  richly  colored.  We  have  several 
species  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  that  would  attract  the  admi- 
ration of  any  observer.  The  yellow  and  brown  markings,  varied  with  red 
and  purple,  which  characterize  the  familiar  Misumena  vatia  (Plate  III., 
Fig.  1),  may  often  be  observed  in  the  midst  of  wild  flowers  of  our  fields. 
A  small  species,  apparently  of  Philodromus,  which  I  am  not  able  to  iden- 
tify, is  remarkable  for  its  pleasant  grass  green  hues,  with  markings  of 
bright  red  and  brown  upon  the  legs  and  palps.  The  most  brilliant  color- 
ing appears  to  be  confined  to  these  four  tribes,  namely,  Orbweavers  and 
Lineweavers  among  the  Sedentaries,  and  S.altigrades  and  Laterigrades  among 
the  Wanderers.  Tubeweavers  and  Tunnel  weavers  among  the  Sedentaries, 
and  Citigrades  among  the  Wanderers,  are,  for  the  most  part,  distinguished 
by  dull  and  inconspicuous  coloring,-  though  it  is  highly  probable  that  a 
wider  knowledge  of  the  species  of  these  three  tribes  will  uncover  many 
decorated  species. 


^  Ti-opical  Nature,  page  97.  2  Malay  Archipelago,  page  437. 

3  Naturalist  on  the  Amazons,  Vol.  I.,  page  lOG.        *  Sexual  Selection  in  Spidere,  page  10. 


COLOR    AND   THE    COLOR   SENSE.  325 


Among  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers  there  appears  to  be  a  preponder- 
ance of  yellow  hues,  and  the  metallic  species  of  these  tribes  are  generally 
marked  by  a  metallic  white  or  silver.  The  Saltigrades  have  a 
„  tendency  to  somewhat   darker   colors,  the  reds  and  browns  being 

more  generally  prevalent  in  this  tribe ;  and  where  metallic  colors 
occur  they  are  usually  metallic  green,  or  occasionally  blue.  Yellows,  greens, 
and  dark  browns  prevail  in  the  Thomisoids.  Uniform  browns,  grays,  blacks, 
and  lead  colored  or  neutral  tints  are  most  common  among  Tubeweavers, 
Tunnelweavers,  and  Citigrades. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  spiders  present  a  sufficient  number  and  variety 
of  facts  in  coloration  to  occupy  the  attention  of  naturalists.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  these  facts  have  not  been  so  systematized  and  presented  in 
connection  with  the  habits,  industry,  and  structure  of  the  species  as  to 
enable  one  to  consider  them  with  accuracy  and  satisfaction  in  their  bear- 
ings upon  many  problems  that  now  occupy  the  thought  of  scientific  ob- 
servers. Nevertheless,  something  may  be  attempted ;  and  even  the  imperfect 
contributions  of  this  chapter  may,  in  the  future  and  in  other  hands,  be 
found  helpful. 

How  shall  we  account  for  this  variety  of  coloration  ?  And  what  under- 
lying causes  have  influenced  the  special  colors  of  particular  species'?  In 
point  of  fact,  color  appears  to  belong  to  the  natural  constitu- 
^  ^  ^  tion  of  the  spider,  being  imparted  to  it  at  its  birth,  and  pre- 
served through  life  by  the  power  of  heredity.  It  seems  to  be 
an  accident  or  incident  of  physiological  changes  which  have  not  been  ac- 
counted for ;  and  as  such  it  can  hardly  be  considered  to  have  special 
regard  to  utility  in  one  direction  or  another.  To  quote  the  language 
of  Mr.  Wallace,  "  Color  per  se  may  be  considered  normal  and  needs  no 
accounting  for.  Amid  the  constant  variations  of  animals  and  plants  it 
is  ever  tending  to  vary,  and  to  appear  when  it  is  absent."  ^ 

No  doubt  it  is  modified  by  food,  habit,  environment,  variations  of  heat, 
cold,  moisture,  light,  and  darkness;  but  the  strong  hereditary  tendency 
by  which  it  is  controlled  is  dominant,  even  amidst  the  abnormal  influ- 
ences which  sometimes  more  or  less  modify  it.  Nevertheless,  it  may  be 
worth  while  to  attempt  to  present  some  of  the  facts  in  habit,  environ- 
ment, and  structure  which  seem  to  be  most  closely  related  to  the  colors 
and  color  changes  of  spiders. 

Some  of  the  most  remarkable  and  perplexing  facts  in  aranead  colora- 
tion are  seen  in  Epeira  trifolium,  and  these  have  been  repre- 
Color  Va-  g^nted  in  Plate  I.,  Volume  II.,  wherein  several  variously  hued 
^®.^®  °  specimens  of  this  species  are  given,  colored  from  the  individ- 
uals themselves,  as  they  were  collected  from  one  field  in  Niantic, 
Connecticut.     The  locality  is  described  at  length   in  Volume  I.,  page  292, 

^  "  Essay  on  Colours  of  Animals." 


326  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

to  which  the  reader  is  referred.  The  specimens  were  all  near  neighbors, 
exposed  to  the  same  influences  of  habitat,  food,  sunlight,  etc.,  and  most 
of  them  were  taken  from  bushes  of  the  same  plant. 

They  were  all  domiciled  in  nests  of  clustered  leaves  or  of  single  leaves 
rolled  and  sewed  together.  Let  us  examine  some  of  these  specimens,  all 
of  which  are  females,  as  we  pluck  them  from  their  homes,  and  note  their 
colors.  Beneath  this  nest  is  a  spider  whose  feet  are  black  and  whose 
legs  are  white,  ringed  with  black  at  the  feet  and  around  the  joints.  The 
body  too  is  white,  with  only  here  and  there  faint  black  lines  bringing 
out  more  distinctly  the  trifolium  markings.  In  the  next  bush  is  another, 
differing  from  the  first  only  in  the  fact  that  the  annuli  of  the  legs  are 
brown  instead  of  black.  Here  is  another  (Plate  I.,  No.  1),  pale  yellow 
on  the  abdomen,  deepening  into  orange  towards  the  spinnerets  under- 
neath the  body.  The  trifoil  markings  on  the  abdomen  are  very  faint, 
indeed,  scarcely  distinguishable.  The  legs  are  a  pale,  transparent  yellow, 
with  red  brown  rings  at  the  joints.  Another  specimen  (No.  2)  resembles 
No.  1,  except  that  the  front  of  the  abdomen  is  orange  below  and  greenish 
yellow  at  the  top,  the  face  being  light  brown.  This  spider  is  drawn  in 
the  position  which  it  usually  assumes  when  sitting  in  its  nest,  or  when 
it  rests  upon  a  branch,  with  the  knees  bunched  up  against  the  abdomen. 
Still  another  specimen  (No.  3)  is  dark  yellow  brown  on  the  dorsum  of 
the  abdomen,  growing  into  a  deep  chocolate  at  the  sides  and  under- 
neath ;  the  trifoil  patterns  and  spots  on  the  abdomen  are  chalk  white. 
The  legs  are  orange  with  brown.  The  next  specimen  (No.  4)  is  drawn 
as  viewed  from  underneath,  the  abdomen  and  sides  showing  there  dark 
orange,  with  crimson  stripes  through  the  centre  and  yellow  hues  along 
the  sides.  The  legs  have  deep  orange  rings  on  transparent  pale  yellow. 
Still  another  (No.  5)  is  colored  yellow,  the  top  of  the  abdomen  deep- 
ening into  yellow  brown  along  the  sides  and  beneath,  and  has  the  out- 
lines of  the  trifolium  spots  distinctly  marked  and  of  a  pale  yellow.  Two 
short,  greenish,  longitudinal  bars  mark  the  tip  of  the  abdomen.  ■  The  legs 
are  pale  yellow  with  brown  rings. 

In  the  next  specimen   (No.  6)  the  trifoil  spots  are  yellow  on  a  green- 
ish yellow  abdomen,  the  latter  deepening  to  orange   on  the  sides  and  be- 
neath.    The  legs  have  dull  brown  rings.     Yet  another  specimen 
Straw-       jg   Qf  g^  bright   strawberry  tint,,  the   abdominal  patterns  being   a 
en-y         bright  yellow,  the  legs  yellow  with  red  brown  rings.     It  is  a  beau- 
tiful object,  certainly,  as  it  lies  bunched  up  in  the  palm  of  one's 
hand,  and  no  one  looking  upon  it  could  deny  that  spiders  are  sometimes 
attractively   clothed.      Still   another  specimen    (No.   9)    has   the   dorsum   of 
the  abdomen  orange,  which  deepens  to  crimson  red  below  and  at 
Male  ^^^  sides,  and  has  light  yellow  trifoils  and  spots.     The  legs  are 

white,  with  dark  brown  rings  at  the  joints.     A  male.  Figs.  10  and 
11,  which  we  find  in  the  nest  of  one  of  the  females,  is  colored  yellow,  the 


COLOR   AND   THE    COLOR   SENSE.  327 

legs  and  cephalothorax  having  brownish  rings  and  bands,  and  the  abdo- 
men being  a  lighter  yellow  with  brownish  spots. 

Thus  the  colors  run,  with  varieties  of  tints  and  hues  that  confound 
the  observer.  Most  of  these  spiders  appear  to  be  of  one  age  and  at  the 
same  period  of  gestation.  Those  that  are  least  advanced,  perhaps,  may  be 
said  to  have  the  white  colors.  The  next  degree  of  maturity  in  mother- 
hood shows  the  yellow  tints.  The  next  the  deepening  brown,  and  so  as 
the  creature  ages  the  colors  seem  to  deepen  and  brighten.  When  the  last 
stage  of  maturity  has  been  reached,  and  the  spider  mother  has  spun  her 
beautiful  silken  cocoon,  depositing  therein  her  eggs  neatly  and  securely 
blanketed  against  assaulting  enemies  and  winter  frosts,  these  colors  will 
gradually  merge  into  the  dull,  dark  hues  of  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf  of 
which  her  nest  is  built,  and  so  her  life  will  fade  away. 

The  physiological  causes  of  this  change  in  the  colors  of  Trifolium 
present  an  interesting  study.  Other  species  known  to  me  are  subject  to 
changes.  In  some  the  change  is  quite  marked.  In  some  there  is  a  great 
variety  of  coloring,  and  particularly  of  dorsal  patterns,  as  in  the  case  of 
Epeira  patagiata  and  Epeira  parvula,  but  the  Shamrock  spider  exceeds  all 
species  which  I  have  ever  observed  in  the  puzzling  variety  and  contrasts, 
as  well  as  beauty,  of  the  colors  it  assumes  in  the  closing  weeks  of  its  life. 

II. 

The  color  of  young  spiders  is  almost  without  exception  light  yellow  or 

green,  whitish  or  livid,  tints  that  blend  well,  with   the  prevailing  greens  of 

foliage  and  young  twigs,  and  the  grays  of  bark  on  trees,  of  rocks 

Color  De-  ^j^^j  g^jj      rpj^jg  jg  probably  due  largely  to  the  fact   that  the   tis- 

^®  °?T  sues  are  at  that  time  translucent.  The  effect  may  also  be  caused 
ment  m  -     -,   n     ^   .       ^        t  i  i     i 

Young       ^y  ^^^  absence  or  acquired  food  in  the  alimentary  tract  and  lack 

of  distribution  throughout  the  system  of  other  than  the  prena- 
tal nutriment. 

As  young  spiders  advance  in  age  the  color  deepens,  which  is  caused,  no 
doubt,  by  gradual  hardening  of  the  tissues,  thus  making  them  more  opaque. 
Up  to  this  period  no  food  has  been  taken,  hence  the  absence  of  food  alone 
is  not  sufficient  to  account  for  the  lighter  colors  of  the  first  stages  after 
exode.  Yellows  and  browns  in  various  tints  occur  at  this  period,  and 
in  some  cases — though  not  generally,  I  believe — color  patterns  which  are 
characteristic  of  the  various  species  in  adult  life  begin  to  appear  with 
more  or  less  distinctness,  or  at  least  suggestively.  It  is  not  until  Seden- 
tary spiderlings  have  established  themselves  upon  their  own  webs,  and,  so 
to  speak,  have  set  up  housekeeping  for  themselves,  that  the  characteristic 
colors  and  markings  of  the  species  begin  to  appear  with  positive  degrees  of 
distinctness. 

The  Attidse,  like  birds,  moult  frequently,  and  at  each  moult  the  mark- 
ings may  change,  so   that   some   of  the  older  writers  have  formed  several 


328  AMERICAN   SPIDEKS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


species  for  the  different  moults  of  one.  These  difficulties  are  increased  by 
the  fact  that  the  adult  males  and  females  of  a  species  usually  differ  con- 
siderably in  appearance.^ 

This  is  not  entirely  in  accord  with  the  statement  of  Mr.  Cambridge  that 
the  pattern  of  a  spider — that  is,  the  design  formed  by  its  colors  and  mark- 
ings— differs  in  general  but  little  in  immaturity  and  maturity,  excepting 
that  it  is  usually  more  distinct  in  the  young  and  in  the  female  exam- 
ples. The  first  of  these  statements  appears  to  me  to  be  too  sweeping, 
unless  the  period  of  youth  referred  to  be  placed  well  on  toward  maturity. 
In  some  species  there  are  striking  differences  between  the  colors  and  mark- 
ings of  the  very  young  spider  and  those  which  it  attains  after  one  or 
two  changes  of  skin.  Epeira  diademata  and  Zilla  x-notata,  two  of  the 
commonest  English  spiders,  are  conspicuous  examples  of  this.^ 

According  to  Peck  ham,  the  young  spiders  often  differ  from  adults,  and 
in  many  species  when  the  sexes  differ  when  adult,  the  male  being  brighter, 
they  are  alike  until  they  reach  maturity,  when  the  male,  along 
°  °^  with  his  sexual  development,  acquires  his  brilliant  color.  Again, 
soon  after  hatching,  young  spiders,  probably  at  the  third  or 
fourth  moult,  begin  to  show  color  more  decidedly,  and  the  colors  are  dis- 
tributed in  the  patterns  characteristic  of  the  species,  and  as  the  spiders 
continue  to  advance  in  age  and  make  their  successive  moults,  other  and 
more  marked  changes  may  be  noted.  ^  The  truth  appears  to  be "  that  there 
are  differences  among  species  in  the  degrees  of  resemblance  between  imma- 
ture and  adult  forms,  but  that  generally  the  likeness  strengthens  from  the 
time  of  hatching  onward  to  maturity. 

I  give  a  few  observations  upon  the  appearance  of  spiderlings  during 
and  shortly  after  their  cocoon  life.  These,  however,  can  hardly  be  fully 
appreciated  by  those  who  do  not  know  the  adult  species,  without  consult- 
ing the  plates  in  Volume  III.  But  the  following  species  may  be  com- 
pared with  figures  or  descriptions  in  this  volume. 

Just  after  its  escape  from  the  egg  shell  the  young  of  Argiope  coph- 
inaria  is  about  two  millimetres  long.  The  cephalothorax  is  a  grayish 
white  color,  translucent,  upon  the  fore  part  of  which  the  eyes, 
Appear-  ^iijcli  are  a  brownish  color,  stand  out  vividlv,  seeming  to  form 
Youne-  ^  large  part  of  the  face.  The  legs  are  white,  translucent,  as 
are  also  the  palps ;  as  the  spider  sits  upon  a  surface  both  legs 
and  palps  are  doubled  under  the  body.  In  this  position  the  palps  seem 
to  be  a  shorter  pair  of  legs,  so  that  as  thus  viewed  the  animal  really 
seems  to  have  ten  legs.  The  abdomen  is  a  yellowish  color,  except  that 
in  the  places  where  the  peculiar  yellowish  irregular  marks  of  the  dorsum 
are  seen  upon  the  adult,  may  be  seen  irregular  markings  of   pure  white. 

^  North  American  Spiders  of  the  Family  Attidse,  page  5.         ^  Spiders  of  Dorset,  xxvi. 
^  Peckhams,  "  Sexual  Selection,"  pages  14, 15. 


COLOR    AND   THE   COLOR   SENSE.  329 


Fig.  305   is  drawn  from  a  young   Cophinaria  just   out   of  the   shell,  and 
Figs.  306  and  307  from  the  same  a  few  days  older. 

When  the  young  Cophinarias  have  advanced  in  age  a  few  days  the  fo- 
lium upon  the  dorsum   of  the  abdomen   assumes  a  distinct   shield   shaped 
,  outline  resembling  that  which  is  common  upon  the  adult  forms 

of  Epeira  insularis,  sclopetaria,  etc.,  the  color  of  the  same  being 
a  darkish  green,  and  the  scalloped  margins  being  surrounded  by  a  white 
band  which  extends  quite  around  the  fore  part  of  the  abdomen.  The 
sides  also  have  a  greenish  band,  the  same  color  prevailing  around  the 
spinnerets.  The  usual  aspect  of  the  abdomen  is  thus  green  in  the  centre 
and  lower  part  of  the  dorsum,  and  white  along  the  fore  part  of  the  abdo- 
men and  the  sides.  The  hairs  are  quite  prominent  both  on  the  abdomen 
and  legs.  The  eyes  have  a  darker  hue,  and  little  processes  on  either  side 
of  the  base  of  the  abdomen  distinctly  appear.  The  abdomen  is  now  in 
general  shape  a  miniature  of  the  adult  form.  The  legs  are  covered  with 
greenish  bands  closely  placed.  When  separated  from  the  mass  of  its  fel- 
low broodlings,  a  single  spider  will  throw  out 
a  thread  from  which  it  will  hang  down,  sus- 
pending itself  by  its  dragline  and  weaving  a 
little  foot  basket,  precisely  in  the  manner  of 
the  more  matured  spiders.  Three  longitudinal 
bands  appear  upon  the  cephalothorax,  one  in 

^^  ^  ^  '  Fig.  305.  Fig.  306.        Fjg.  307. 

the  median   line  and  one  on  each  side.     The    pie.  305.    Young  Argiope  cophinaria 

youngling    looks    plump,    as     though    well    nOUr-         ^f^er  leaving  the   shell.        figs.  306, 
.   .       ,  °  i  1  '  o  '307.    Appearance  after  first  moult. 

ished. 

The  young  of  Epeira  strix  shortly  after  its  advent  from  the  cocoon 
(April  14th)  often  presents  a  uniform  glossy  black  appearance.  After  an- 
other moult  this  appearance  is  somewhat  changed,  the  legs  have 
,  .  black  annuli  around  the  joints,  and  the  interspaces  are  of  a  yel- 

lowish brown  hue  well  covered  with  black  spines.  The  folium 
upon  the  abdomen  is  along  its  margins  jet  black,  with  a  median  cross  like 
figure  of  a  dark  yellowish  brown.  Bands  of  the  same  color  surround  the 
scalloped  margin  along  the  sides.  The  cephalothorax  has  the  same  gen- 
eral hue  of  glossy  black. 

At  the  time  of  hatching,  the  young  Gasteracanthas  of  Africa,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Vinson,  are  round  and  black,  without  the  pointed  spines  pecul- 
iar to  the  adult,  and  with  a  triangular  white  spot  upon  the  abdomen. 
These  peculiarities  are  also  characteristic  of  our  California  species.  Among 
those  sent  to  me  by  Mrs.  Eigenmann  were  a  number  of  young  in  various 
stages  of  growth.  They  are  all  quite  black,  and  the  spines  are  either  lack- 
ing or  just  beginning  to  push  out  slight  angles  upon  the  otherwise  rounded 
abdomen.     (Compare  with  Plate  IV.,  Volume  II.,  Fig.  8.) 

The  black  color  of  these  young  Gasteracanthas  is  a  singular  variation 
from   the  ordinary   color  of  spiderlings,   which   is   quite  light,   the  colors 


330  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


being  nearly  always  white,  or  a  faint  livid,  or  a  delicate  hue  of  pink  or 

yellow,     I   do   not   know   whether   the   absence   of   spines   characterizes  the 

young  of  those  species  that  show  these  peculiarities  in  adult  life. 

Abdom-     j^  j-j^g^y  Y)e  that  the  development  of  these  thorn  like  processes  is 

o  .  in    some    way    connected   with   the    development  and    growth    of 

Spines.  "^  .  . 

the  young  spider,  and  is  only  completed  at  maturity.     It  would 

be  interesting  to  know  the  physiological  causes  of  this  vital  phenomenon. 

Some  of  those  species  which  have  soft  conical  tubercles  upon  the  fore 
part  of  the  abdomen  show  these  very  early  in  the  young.  I  have  observed 
them  distinctly  formed  upon  at  least  two  of  the  Angulata  group  of  our 
American  Epeira,  gemma  and  bicentennaria.  In  the  case  of  Argiope  coph- 
inaria  the  spiderling  immediately  after  escape  from  the  egg  (the  first  moult) 
appears  to  be  without  the  processes  or  bifurcations  which  mark  the  base 
of  the  abdomen  of  that  species,  but  after  the  next  moult  these  show  plainly. 
(Compare  Fig.  305  with  Figs.  306  and  307.) 

When  the  young  of  Tegenaria  medicinalis  first  break  from  the  shell, 
the  legs  and  palps  are  white  and  semitransparent.  The  eyes  stand  out 
„  .    brown   and   distinct  upon   the   face.      The   cephalothorax   in   the 

fore  part  has  a  slight  bluish  or  lead  colored  tint,  with  a  touch 
of  yellow  at  the  posterior  part  near  the  abdomen.  The  mandibles  are  the 
color  of  the  cephalothorax,  but  with  the  fangs  prominent,  feeble  looking, 
whitish,  instead  of  the  dark,  horny  appearance  of  the  adult.  The  abdo- 
men is  a  uniform  yellowish  hue,  at  the  apex  of  which  the  spinnerets  ap- 
pear lead  colored,  the  long,  jointed  pair  quite  prominent.  The  spines  are 
quite  manifest  on  the  legs,  and  hairs  are  seen  on  the  abdomen.  The  fo- 
lium or  dorsal  figure  can  be  traced,  together  with  the  transverse  bars,  on 
either  side  of  the  median  line.  In  a  day  or  two  the  color  of  the  legs 
deepens  until  they  have  a  leaden  hue,  upon  which  the  black  spines  stand 
out  more  prominently.  The  abdomen  is  a  little  brighter  yellow,  and  the 
cephalothorax  corresponds  in  color  with  the  legs.  In  two  days  more  the 
yellowish  tint  has  faded  from  the  abdomen,  the  whole  spider  has  a  black- 
ish appearance,  caused  by  the  dark  hairs  upon  the  lead  colored  body ;  the 
transverse  markings  stand  out  more  prominently  upon  the  abdomen. 

The  young  of  Epeira  cucurbitina  (English)  when  extracted  from  the 
egg  have  the  cephalothorax  and  legs  of  a  pale  yellowish  white  color,  that 
of  the  abdomen  being  reddish  brown.  But  after  their  first  change  of  in- 
tegument they  acquire  an  olive  or  brownish  green  tint,  the  upper  part  of 
the  abdomen  being  metallic  with  whitish  spots  on  each  side,  with  a  longi- 
tudinal stripe  of  the  same  hue  parallel  with  it.  On  the  upper  side  there 
is  a  series  of  minute  black  spots.  ^  These  examples  will  be  ample,  when 
compared  with  adult  forms,  to  enable  the  student  to  note  the  color  changes 
that  occur  during  the  growth  of  spiders. 

^  Spiders  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  page  343. 


COLOR   AND   THE    COLOR   SENSE.  331 


III. 

As  spiders  further  advance  in  age  and   make  their  successive  moults, 

various    color    changes    may   be    noted.      Immediately   after    moulting    the 

color  is  always  lighter,  which   is  probably  due  to   the  fact  that 

_  „  the  harder  skin  just  cast  off  prevented  the  passage  of  light 
ences.  through  the  tissues.  The  new  skin  is  thinner  and  more  trans- 
lucent. Moulting  produces  changes  in  color  patterns  of  a  de- 
cided kind,  at  least  in  certain  species. 

Phidippus  rufus  when  mature  is  a  dark  red  spider,  the  male  consider- 
ably brighter  than  his  consort.  When  about  one-seventh  grown  and  after 
the  third  or  fourth  moult,  the  young  are  dark  brown  with  light  yellow 
legs.  Some  moults  later  they  are  reddish,  with  narrow,  oblique,  whitish 
bars  on  the  sides  of  the  abdomen,  and  two  dark  bands  on  the  dorsum,  on 
each  of  which  is  a  row  of  white  dots.  The  appearance  of  the  spider 
changes  but  little  during  the  next  four  moults,  but  after  the  last,  the 
tenth,  both  male  and  female  become  mature,  and  acquire  the  adult  color. 
The  appearance  of  the  female  after  the  fifth  moult  is  similar  to  that  of 
many  other  females  in  the  genus.  ^ 

The  female  of  Phidippus  johnsonii  has  the  abdomen  red  and  black 
with  a  white  base  and  some  white  dots,  while  the  male  abdomen  is  bright 
vermilion  red,  with  sometimes  a  white  band  at  the  base.  The  young  of 
both  sexes  resemble  the  mother,  until  the  last  moult,  when  the  males  as- 
sume their  bright  livery.  ^ 

In  old  age  the  color  changes  are  often  quite  decided.  In  some,  as  Epeira 
trifolium  and  Epeira  thaddeus,  the  changes  give  added  brilliancy  to  the 
color  at  certain  parts  of  the  body.  Some  of  the  color  changes 
„  .  of  Trifolium  are  remarkably  beautiful,  and  the  same  is  true  of 

Thaddeus.  But  advanced  age,  as  a  rule,  brings  darker  colors. 
Orange  and  brown  then  have  a  ruddier  hue ;  yellows  darken  into  orange 
and  brown.  Sometimes  the  yellow  patterns  are  entirely  lost,  and  the  spi- 
der becomes  dark,  almost  black.  There  is  a  grizzled  appearance  about  the 
animal  in  this  stage  which  reminds  one  of  vertebrate  animals  at  the  cor- 
responding period.  These  last  named  changes  are  manifest  in  the  female 
spider  after  the  final  deposit  of  eggs. 

In  gravid  females  changes  of  color  are  sometimes  noticeable.  Some  of 
the  bright  colors  upon  Trifolium  and  Thaddeus  are  doubtless  due  to  this 
condition.  However,  other  and  perhaps  most  species  during  ges- 
tation have  a  lighter  color,  which  may  be  the  result  of  mechan- 
ical changes  in  structure.  The  skin  becomes  distended  and  more  transpa- 
rent, the  pigment  is  thereby  distributed,  and  thus  centres  of  color  are 
broken  up  and  the  coloring  matter  diffused.     Not  only  the  skin,  but  other 

1  Peckhams,  Sexual  Selection,  page  25.  ^  Idem,  page  17. 


332  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


parts  of  the  abdomen  are  distended  during  gestation,  and  this  distension 
produces  changes  in  the  color  of  the  animal,  it  may  be  by  modifying  in 
some  way  the  various  secretions  from  the  liver  and  other  organs,  and  in 
some  cases,  perhaps,  widening  the  intervals  between  color  centres  and  color 
hairs,  and  breaking  up  groups  of  the  same. 

The  little  pits  or  dark  spots  upon  the  dorsum  of   the  abdomen,  which 

mark  the  attachment  of'  the  muscles  within,  seem  to  me  to  be  centres  for 

the  aggregation   of   coloring  material.      At   least   the   dorsal  pat- 

EfFects  of  terns  appear   to   be   grouped   in    some  regular  way  around   these 

.    ,.  muscular  attachments.     Thus  the  action   of   the  muscles   on   the 

Action. 

skin  and  chitinous  shell  or  walls  seems  to  compel  certain  aggre- 
gations along  the  lines  of  use  that  form  these  colors  and  patterns.  It 
might  be  important  in  this  connection  to  consider  what  is  the  ordinary 
effect  of  muscular  action  upon  the  distribution  of  pigment  and  colored 
hairs  in  vertebrate  animals. 

The  color  rings  or  annuli  around  the  joints  of  the  legs  of  spiders  may 
be  influenced  by  action  of  the  muscles.  The  tendency  of  these  darker  and 
more  vivid  colors  is  towards  the  ends  of  the  joints,  as  though  by  the  at- 
tachments and  prevailing  outward  action  of  the  muscles  the  pigment  were 
forced  mechanically  or  otherwise  attracted  toward  these  points.  The  foot 
or  terminal  joint  is  usually  dark,  and  often  black.  In  the  cephalothorax 
may  be  noted  the  same  tendency  of  color  to  group  itself  somewhat  sym- 
metrically around  the  points  of  muscular  attachment,  particularly  the  cen- 
tral depression. 

IV. 

Color  and  markings  are  undoubtedly  influenced  by  sex.  Peckham,  after 
summarizing  the  Attidse  of  France  from  the  studies  of  M.  Simon,  finds 
that  in  thirty-nine  species  the  male  is  plainly  unlike  the  female. 
Influence  bei^g  j^^  twenty-six  instances  much  more  conspicuous,  while  in 
P  ,  fifty-five  the  sexes  are  similar,  or,  if  they  difPer,  the  male  is  no 

more  conspicuous  than  the  female.  These  facts  make  it  clear 
that  the  sexes  commonly  differ,  the  male  being  brighter  than  the  female. 
Peckham  considers  it  not  too  much  to  say  that  in  the  Attidse  at  least 
two-fifths  of  all  the  species  have  tlie  male  more  conspicuous  than  the 
female.  ^ 

Menge,  in  referring  to  the  greater  brilliancy  of  the  male  of  Micromata 
ornata,  says  that  it  only  assumes  its  bright  color  as  a  bridal  adornment, 
and  in  this  connection  makes  a  statement  that  in  the  Thomisidse  and  Sal- 
tigradse  the  males  are  generally  more  beautifully  colored  than  the  females.  ^ 

Philseus  militaris,  a  common  American  Attoid,  is  another  illustration. 
In  the  male  the  cephalothorax  and  abdomen  are  bright  bronze  brown,  the 


^  Sexual  Selection,  page  20.  ^  Menge,  Preussische  Spinnen,  II.,  page  396. 


*  COLOR   AND   THE   COLOR   SENSE.  333 

former  with  a  wide,  pure*  white  band  on  each  upper  side  and  a  white  spot 
on  the  centre  of  the  head,  the  latter  with  a  wide  white  band  around  the 
base  and  sides.  The  female  has  the  brown  all  covered  over  with  white  and 
gray  hairs,  which  form  a  more  or  less  distinct  pattern  of  lines  and  spots.  ^ 

In  Habrocestum  splendens,  while  the  young  males  are  not  exactly  like 
the  adult  female,  they  resemble  her  much  more  closely  than  they  do  the 
adult  male.  This  is  one  of  our  most  beautiful  male  Saltigrades.  The 
highly  iridescent  scales  which  cover  the  entire  body  make  it  impossible 
to  give  in  a  painting  a  correct  idea  of  its  brilliancy,  since  the  color  changes 
in  every  light.  The  male  only  gets  his  gorgeous  livery  at  the  last  moult, 
just  as  he  becomes  mature,  though  in  some  species  the  nuptial  moult  is 
acquired  one  moult  before  maturity.  ^ 

This  prevalent  condition  of  the  relative  brilliancy  of  coloring  between 
the  sexes  of  the  Attidse  is  entirely  reversed  among  Orbweavers.  In  this 
tribe  there  is  a  strong  tendency  to  inconspicuous  colors  in  males,  and  fre- 
quently in  the  degree  that  the  females  are  conspicuous  for  size  and  color- 
ing, the  males  are  diminutive  and  dull. 

We  have  already  seen  (see  Chapter  II.,  page  60),  from  our  examination 

of  the   interesting  studies   of  the   Peckhams  upon  the   courtship   of   Salti- 

grade    spiders,    that   there   is    a   close    relation    between    mating 

Color         habits  and  the  brilliant  colors  prevalent  among  males.     In  other 

.   '  words,  the  favors  desired  from  the  female  are  solicited  with  such 

scious-  . 

ness.  ^  display  of  the  ornamented   parts  of  the  male  body,  as  to  jus- 

tify the  conclusion  that  the  ornamentation  is  pleasing  to  the  fe- 
male, and  is  presented  in  the  way  of  soliciting  her  favors.  Of  course,  if 
we  accept  this  fact,  we  also  admit  that  there  must  be,  on  the  part  of  both 
sexes,  a  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  color,  and  the  fact  that  the  female 
at  least  is  so  sensitive  to  the  differences  in  color  ornamentation  as  to  be 
moved  towards  this  wooer  or  that  according  to  the  splendor  of  his  physi- 
cal finery. 

That  climate  and  favorable  environment  sometimes  exert  modifying  in- 
fluences upon  the  general  facies  and,  to  some  extent,  the  industry  of  spi- 
ders, is   illustrated   by  Epeira   labyrinthea.     I  have  specimens  of 

T  XM  this  species  from  almost  everv  part  of  the  United  States  where 

Influence.  ^  j    r 

collections  of  araneads  have  been  made.  It  is  distributed  from 
the  far  Northeast  to  the  southwestern  portion  of  California.  I  have  also 
received  specimens  in  collections  forwarded  to  me  by  Professor  Peckham 
from  several  South  American  States.  These  southern  representatives  of  the 
species  are  larger  and  decidedly  more  vigorous  looking  animals  than  the 
northern  specimens.  The  industry  of  the  spider  experiences  no  essential 
change  as  far  as  I  can  learn.  The  snare  is,  perhaps,  larger  with  tropical 
examples.     Specimens  of  cocoons  sent  to  me  from  southern  California  have 


^  Peckham,  Sexual  Selection,  page  17.  ^  Id.,  page  18. 


334  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


all  the  characteristics  of  our  northern  species,  but  are  decidedly  larger. 
No  marked  influence  appears  to  have  been  exerted  upon  the  coloration  of 
the  spider  itself.     But  other  collections  indicate  contrary  conditions. 

The  species  was  collected  pretty  freely  by  the  naturalists  of  the  U.  S.  S. 
"Albatross,"  in  its  explorations  along  the  shores  of  the  southern  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific,  showing  an  immense  distribution  over  the  en- 
Epeira  ^j^g  Western  Hemisphere.  Dr.  Marx  remarks  that  specimens  col- 
■   Yy'  lected  at  the  Straits  of  Magellan  are  hardly  recognizable,  for  its 

color  has  greatly  changed.  The  dorsal  folium  is  nearly  obliter- 
ated. Only  two  lighter  spots  at  each  side  remain,  and  the  whole  body  is 
covered  with  a  long,  dense  pubescence.^ 

If  Dr.  Marx  is  correct  in  his  surmise  that  Epeira  cooksonii  Butler, 
which  lives  in  great  abundance  on  the  Gallapagos  Islands,  is  related  to  our 
Epeira  domiciliorum,  and  that  the  latter  spider  has  undergone  on  the  Pa- 
cific coast  so  great  a  change  in  form  and  coloration  as  to  be  identical 
with  my  Epeira  vertebrata,  this  species  will  afford  another  example  of  the 
influence  of  climate  upon  color.  ^  I  am  not  satisfied,  'however,  that  the 
last  two  named  species  are  identical.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  species, 
as  notably  Argiope  cophinaria  and  argyraspis,  have  undergone  a  transcon- 
tinental distribution,  covering  wide  extremes  of  climate  and  conditions, 
without  experiencing  any  notable  change  in  general  appearance. 

These  examples  will  be  sufficient  as  illustrations  of  the  fact  that  the 
influence  of  climate  must  vary  according  to  species.  The  fact  is  that  some 
of  the  species  probably  are  more  elastic  and  impressionable  in  their  nat- 
ural constitution,  and  thus  are  more  sensitive  to  radical  changes  in  envi- 
ronment, while  others  are  able  to  resist  such  changes  more  vigorously,  and 
thus  retain  their  characteristics  through  extreme  changes. 

Spiders  that  live  upon  plants,  as  a  rule  have  colors  that  are  har- 
monious with  the  prevailing  greens  and  yellows,  and  admixtures  thereof, 
of  branches,  leaves,  and  flowers.  Spiders  that  nest  in  stables, 
Influence  Jiouses,  on  fences,  and  like  locations,  ordinarily  have  dusky 
,  colors,  harmonious  with  the  environment;  as,  for  example,  The- 
ridium  tepidariorum,  Agalena  neevia,  Tegenaria  medicinalis. 
However,  I  do  not  find  that  any  great  difference  in  color  is  observable 
in  the  above  species  when  they  nest  in  foliage,  as  is  often  the  case,  at 
least  with  Agalena  and  Theridium.  It  might  be  said,  perhaps,  that  there 
is  a  slight  tendency  to  darker  hues  and  a  more  uniform  color  when  the 
spiders  are  founa*in  the  first  named  locations. 

Ground  spiders,  as  the  Lycosids,  generally  have  colors  of  neutral  grays 
that  blend  well  either  with  the  soil,  with  rocks,  or  with  stalks  of  grass 
and  weeds,  especially  when  the  latter  are  somewhat  dry.  Lycosids  found 
in  the  neighborhood  of  streams  do  not  seem  to  be  especially  influenced  by 


Proc.  U.  S.  National  Mus.,  Smithsonian  Institn.,  Vol.  XII.,  page  209.      ^  Id.,  page  210. 


COLOR  AND  THE  COLOR  SENSE.  335 

the  natural  color  of  water;  but  Dolomedes  sexpunctatus,  which  is  so  con- 
stantly found  on  the  water,  sometimes  has  a  tint  that  at  least  well  harmo- 
nizes with  that  of  the  stream  itself. 

Saltigrades   follow  the  rule   of  the  Lycosids;  their  colors,  being  chiefly 
black,  gray,  and  brown,   harmonize  with   the   surfaces  of  rocks,  trunks  of 
trees,  etc.,  upon   which   they  habitually   seek   their   prey.     Many 
Mimetic     Qf  them  are  freely  marked  with  yellow,  and   thus  are  also  suffi- 
ciently harmonized  with   the  color   of  the    leaves.     The  metallic 
green   and   blue  on  the  fangs  of  some    Saltigrades  seem   almost 
like  a  leaf  ambush  to  the  body  of  the  creature  as   it   is  observed   stalking 
its   prey.     This   suggests    the   strategy   most   familiar   from   its   association 
with  the  lines  of  Shakespeare  : — 

"Macbeth  shall  never  vanquished  be,  until 
Great  Birnam  wood  to  the  Dunsinane  hill 
Shall  come  against  him." 

It  is,  perhaps,  a  not  wholly  untenable  theory  that  some  insects  are 
made  less  wary  by  the  resemblance  to  surrounding  foliage  and  the  play  of 
iridescent  hues  from  the  mandibles  of  a  stalking  Phidippus  morsitans, 
for  example,  as  it  stealthily  moves  upon  its  prey.  But  independent  of 
the  indifference  of  the  ordinary  insect  to  spider  presence,  the  Peckhams 
have  taught  us  to  find  the  chief  service  of  these  gorgeous  frontlets  in 
courtship.  But  what  can  be  their  use  in  the  female  Morsitans?  She  is 
such  a  ferocious  virago  that  we  might  suspect  in  her  an  example  of  warn- 
ing coloration  as  towards  her  own  lovers. 

According  to  Emerton,^  in  one  species  of  Linyphia  from  Weyer's  Cave, 

Virginia,  the  colors  and  markings  of  some  specimens  are  as  bright  as  on 

spiders   of  the   same  family  living   in   cellars  and  shady  woods. 

o  or  o      rpj^g   other   five   species   are   pale   in   color.      On   the    supposition 

Spiders.     ^^^^   ^^^   these   species    drifted   from   the   outside   world   into   the 

caverns,  we  must  reason  from  such  a  fact  either,  that  the  species 

retaining  a  normal  color  had  been  domesticated  in  the  caverns  at  a  much 

more  recent  date  than  the  others,  or  that  it  was  possessed  of  greater  power 

to  resist  the  changes  consequent  upon  its  changed  environment. 

The  influence  of  cave  life  upon  Anthrobia  mammouthia  appears  to  be 
manifest  in  this  lack  of  color.  Two  young  Anthrobias  were  hatched  May 
3d  for  Professor  Packard,  who  describes  the  whole  body,  including  the 
legs,  as  snow  white,  with  the  legs  much  shorter  than  in  the  adult  state. 
The  adult  in  life  is  white,  tinged  with  a  very  faint  flesh  color,  with  the 
abdomen  reddish.  In  some  specimens  the  abdomen  has  beneath  several 
large   transverse   dusky   bands.      Linyphia    subterranea   as   observed   living 


1  "Notes  on  Spiders  from  Caves  in  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and  Indiana,"  American  Nat- 
uralist, Vol.  IX.,  page  278. 


336  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


in -Wyandotte  Cave  is  pale  pinkish,  horn  brown   on  the  thorax   and   legs, 
while  the  abdomen  is  dull  honey  yellow.  ^ 

Two  specimens  of  Linyphia  weyerii  in  my  possession,  collected  by  Dr. 
Joseph.  Leidy  in  Luray  Cavern,  Virginia,  are  of  a  light  honey  yellow,  the 
abdomen  of  one  individual  being  darkish  brown.  As  this  is  a  common 
color  for  spiders  of  all  conditions,  after  they  have  been  in  alcohol  a  little 
while,  I  am  not  able  to  say  what  may  have  been  the  original  color  of 
these,  particularly  as  they  are  not  adult. 

In  the  case  of  Lycosa  arenicola,  whose  habits  were  studied  by  me  on 
Coffin's  Beach,  near  Annisquam,  Massachusetts,  the  undue  presence  of  sun- 
light   and    heat    appears   to    have    produced    precisely   the    same 
eac  e     j-gg^^^g    g^g    ^j^g    absence    of    sunlight    in    Mammoth    Cave.     The 
by  Sun-  ,  r     ^       i  •        »       •  •         • 

liffht  eastern   shore   oi    the    bay   opposite   Annisquam   consists   in   part 

of  a  stretch  of  sand  hills  known  as  Coffin's  Beach.  The  sand  is 
a  bright  white  color,  and  is  massed  at  places  into  elevations  of  consider- 
able height.  The  fragrant  Bay  bush  grows  in  clumps  along  the  edges 
and  summits  of  these  irregular  sand  hills,  and  this  is  intermingled  with 
patches  of  tough  grass,  among  which  are  numerous  burrows  of  the  Turret 
spider.  These  Lycosids  are  domiciled  in  the  sand,  and  spread  very  gen- 
erally over  the  dunes.  The  burrows  are  dug  straight  downward,  penetrat- 
ing the  upper  layer  of  loose  sand,  and  striking  the  more  compact  and 
moist  strata  below  the  surface.     The  spiders  captured  were  of  a  light  hue, 

as  compared  with  the  same  specimens  found 
in  meadows,  fields,  and  like  environment  in 
the  interior.  Specimens  almost  identical  with 
these  in  color  were  found  by  Dr.  Joseph 
Leidy,  and  subsequently  by  myself,  in  the 
sand  at  Beach  Haven,  New  Jersey.  This 
pale  coloring  appears  in  all  other  littoral 
specimens  examined.  The  influence  of  envi- 
ronment, as  manifest  in  these  spiders,  was  also 

Fig.  308.    Lycosa  arenicola.    (A  dark         geen     in     a     graSshoppCr     Or     loCUSt     which      is 
specimen.)  . 

quite   abundant  on  Coffin's  Beach,  and  is  al- 
most as  white  as  the  sand  over  which  it  was  found  hopping.  ^ 

It  is  certainly  confusing  to  one  who  studies  the  influence  of  light  upon 
aranead  coloration  to  find  such  contradictory  facts  as  these,  viz.,  that  the 
absence  of  light  results  in  albinism  in  the  spider  fauna  of  cav- 
Contra-  ^^.j^g^  while  the  excessive  sunlight  which  beats  upon  and  is  re- 
Effects  fleeted  by  the  white  sea  sand  produces  the  same  condition.  Evi- 
dently something  more  than  the  direct  influence  of  sunlight  must 
contribute  to  these  results. 


'  Invertebrate  Cave  Fauna  of  Kentucky,  Am.  Nat.,  Vol.  IX.,  page  276. 
2  McCook :   The  Turret    Spider   on   Coffin's    Beach,   Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1888, 
page  333. 


COLOR    AND   THE    COLOR   SENSE.  337 

But  confusing  elements  do  not  stop  here.  Any  one  who  is  familiar  with 
our  ordinary  cellar  spider  fauna  must  have  observed  among  them  a  strong 
tendency  to  black  or  dark  colors.  The  most  common  cellar  spider  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  is  probably  the  Tubeweaver  Tegenaria  me- 
dicinalis.  It  is  a  quite  dark  lead  color,  which  is  as  near  black  us  any  of 
our  indigenous  spiders.  So  also  Agalena  nsevia,  when  it  nests  in  dark 
places,  as  it  often  does,  seems  to  me  to  add  to  the  somewhat  sombre  colors 
which  it  bears  in  arboreal  and  sunny  sites,  several  additional  tints  of 
darkness. 

It  should  be  noted  that  in  the  case  of  the  Turret  spider  of  Coffin's 
Beach  a  large  portion  of  the  year  must  be  spent  in  a  torpid  condition 
by  such  individuals  as  survive  the  winter,  which  is  severe  and  long  in 
that  vicinity.  On  the  other  hand,  the  white  spiders  of  Mammoth  Cave 
live  in  a  uniform  and  pleasantly  warm  temperature.  The  same,  to  some  ex- 
tent, is  true  of  the  Medicinal  spider,  which  is  kept  reasonably  warm  when 
living  in  our  cellars  and  other  unfrequented  places  in  human  habitations, 
but,  unlike  the  Mammoth  Cave  Anthrobias,  are  black.  Thus  similar  con- 
ditions of  temperature,  as  well  as  of  light,  appear  in  these  cases  to  issue 
in  opposite  conditions  of  color. 


I  have  already  considered  the  theory  of  Peckham  that  the  bright  orna- 
mentation  of  the  male  Saltigrade  spider  serves  to   attract  the  attention   of 
the  female,  and  to  secure   him  her  favor  in  preference  to  duller 
Color         colored  rivals.     In  the  case  of  Orbweavers,  where  the  conditions 
fjr  f  ^re  reversed  and   the  female  is   the  more  highly  ornamented,  we 

may  suppose  that  the  point  of  utility  is  also  reversed,  and  the 
brighter  colors  of  the  female  serve  to  attract  to  her  the  attention  of  the 
male.  In  the  case  of  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers,  there  would  seem  to  be 
some  necessity  for  this,  inasmuch  as  the  females  for  the  most  part  occupy 
the  centre  of  their  webs,  which  are  often  of  considerable  size,  and  tlius 
they  would  require  to  be  marked  in  such  wise  that  the  vagrant  male  on 
his  courtship  excursions  could  discern  liis  mate  at  the  distance  of  at  least 
several  inches.  It  seems  not  an  overstrained  supposition  that  both  the  in- 
creased size  and  excessive  coloration  of  the  female  would  make  her  a 
more  conspicuous  object  and  thus  facilitate  the  union  of  the  two  sexes. 

Again,  in  a  large  number  of  species  which  are  influenced  by  what  we 
might    call    mimetic    harmony,    and   to   which    allusion   has    already   been 
made,  we  can  readily  see  how  highly  useful   the  general   resem- 
ime  ic    |jjr^j|(.g  Qf  environment  would  be  in  protecting  spiders  from  vari- 
ous  enemies.     All   the  Wanderers,  and    some    of    the    Sedentary 
spiders,  appear  to  be  subject  to  those  influences  which  harmonize  their  color 
with  the  surroundings  of  their  daily  life.     This  subject  may  be  more  fully 
considered  in  the  chapter  on  Mimicry,  but  it  has  been  necessary  to  allude 


338  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK, 

to  it  in  this  connection.  Here,  perhaps,  we  have  a  view  of  the  greatest 
influence  exercised  by  color  and,  as  one  may  say,  the  absence  of  color,  upon 
the  life  of  araneads. 

When  we  come  to  consider  the  more  highly  colored  species,  particularly 
in  their  relation  to  their  habits,  the  question  of  utility  is  complicated  by 
many  apparently  contradictory  facts.  Such  large  and  well  marked  species 
'as  those  of  the  genus  Argiope,  Acrosoma,  Gasteracantha,  and  such  brilliant 
species  as  the  Orchard  spider,  are  found  well  nigh  invariably  hanging  at 
the  centre  of  their  webs  in  full  view  of  all  enemies  and  assailants.  One 
who  i^  pursued  by  the  theory  of  utility  can  scarcely  fail  to  ask  whether 
these  species  are  protected  by  their  color  from  any  enemies,  and,  if  so,  in 
what  manner  are  they  protected?  It  is  certainly  natural  to  suppose  that 
they  are  more  exposed  thereby  to  raiding  birds,  digger  and  mud  dauber 
wasps. 

Another  question  may  be  mooted,  have  these  species,  thus  highly  col- 
ored, and  thereby  exposed  to  enemies,  any  industrial  protection  which 
may  be  considered  a  compensation  ?  I  refer  to  a  few  exam- 
Industrial  pjgg  bearing  upon  this  inquiry.  Argiope  cophinaria  and  Ar- 
,.  gvraspis    sometimes    have   protective   wings   of    retitelarian    lines 

thrown  out  on  each  side  of  their  nets,  which  guard  the  dorsal 
parts  of  their  bodies,  and  a  thick  shield  like  sheeting,  which  protects  the 
under  side.  (See  Volume  I.,  Figs.  96  and  89.)  These  spiders  are  highly 
colored  and  conspicuous  by  size.  Tliey  dwell  in  shrubs,  bushes,  grasses, 
low  trees,  and  commonly  are  stationed  in  the  centre  of  their  round  webs, 
having  no  domicile  or  tent  to  which  they  retire.  No  doubt,  the  pro- 
tective wings  are  serviceable  in  warding  oif  attacks  of  raiding  wasps,  as 
well  as  helping  to  secure  insect  food  for  the  occupant.  But  I  find  that  in 
a  large  number  of  cases  these  fenders  are  omitted.  The  tendency  to  omit 
them,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  strongly  increases  as  the  spiders  mature  in 
age.  Perhaps  in  this  case  the  size  of  the  animal  may  be  considered  as 
sufficient  protection.  At  all  events,  I  think  that  the  protective  wings  are 
rather  characteristic  of  the  immature  state. 

The  Insular  and  Shamrock  spiders,  which  are  among  the  most  brightly 
colored  of  our  fauna,  do  not  hang  habitually  in  the  centre  of  their  webs 
during  the  day,  but  live  in  leafy  tents,  and  their  habitat  is  among  bushes, 
shrubs,  and  trees.  The  Insular  spider  inclines  to  groves  much  more  strongly 
tlian  Trifolium.  Epeira  thaddeus  has  the  same  habit.  Indeed,  it  may  be 
asserted  generally  that  many  of  our  most  highly  colored  Epeiroids  belong 
to  tentmaking  species,  a  fact  which  is  true  not  only  of  the  American,  but 
of  the  European,  spider  fauna.  The  facts  here  seem  to  point  to  a  special 
development  of  industrial  protection  as  a  compensation  for  the  exposure  of 
bright  colors. 

On  the  other  hand,  Epeira  strix,  which  is  not  a  bright  colored  spider 
by  any  means,  is  one  of  the  most  secretive  Orb  weavers  in  its  habits,  dwelling 


COLOR   AND   THE   COLOR   SENSE.  339 


in  a  domicile  of  rolled  leaves,  shrinking  away  into  cavities  and  holes  of 
bark,  in  angles  of  walls,  and  like  positions,  occupying  at  times  a  well  made 
leafy  tent,  after  the  manner  of  Insularis  and  Trifolium,  and  only 
Seeming  occupying  its  snare  during  the  night.  It  is  one  of  the  rarest 
,.  ..  things  to  find  a  Furrow  spider,  unless   it  be   quite   young,  sus- 

pended upon  its  orb,  trapping  flies,  in  daytime.  Notwithstand- 
ing its  seeming  protective  color,  and  the  additional  protection  of  its  secret- 
ive habits,  it  is  mercilessly  pursued,  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  by  the 
steel  blue  wasp,  which  stores  numbers  in  its  clay  cells. 

Epeira  domiciliorum  and  cinerea  are  also  spiders  of  rather  inconspicuous 
colors,  the  last  named  particularly  so,  and  both  of  them  screen  themselves 
in  tents,  though  the  Domicile  spider  at  least  not  as  habitually  as  some 
others. 

The  Labyrinth  spider  and  Epeira  triaranea  are  among  the  most 
strongly  protected   of   our  fauna   by   their   industry,   having,  besides   their 

orbs  and  thick  retitelarian 
Domicile,  snare,  a  dome  shaped  silk- 
Laby-  ^j^  ^^^^^  ^^  a  domicile.  In 
^  ,  '  ,  addition,  Labyrinthea  roofs 
Spiders.  ^^^^  ^^^^  with  a  dry  leaf,  or 
uses  it  as  a  shelter  for  her 
body.  These  spiders  are  strongly 
marked  as  to  their  patterns,  and  are 
not  inconspicuously  colored,  but  do 
not  have  the  bright  hues  which  characterize  Argiope,  Epeira  insularis,  and 
some  others. 

The  Orchard  spider  is  one  of  the  most  brilliantly  colored  of  our  indig- 
enous species,  although  its  hues  harmonize  well,  particularly  its  green  and 
yellow,  with  its  leafy  surroundings.  It  rests  beneath  its  horizontal  orb, 
where  it  is  abundantly  exposed  to  attack  from  above,  but  has  straggling, 
pyramidal  retitelarian  lines  beneath  it,  which  form  some  protection.  It 
dwells  mostly  in  wooded  places,  or  among  shrubs  and  thick,  leafy  bushes. 
Epeira  gibberosa  is  also  a  brilliantly  colored  spider.  Its  industrial  protec- 
tion is  more  manifest,  for  it  dwells  beneath  a  sort  of  hammock  or  structure 
of  lines  woven  between  the  edges  of  a  leaf.  This  hammock  protects  it 
above,  while  the  leaf  affords  good  security  from  beneath  (Volume  I.,  page 
154),  and  its  green  color  completes  the  protection. 

Our  three  indigenous  species  of  Acrosoma,  viz.,  Rugosa,  Spinea,  and 
Mitrata,  are  all,  particularly  the  first  two,  well  marked  and  brightly  colored 
spiders.  They  are  protected,  Mitrata  least  conspicuously,  by  spin- 
Spmous  ^^g  processes,  if  such  can  be  called  protections.  They  live  in  the 
pecies.  ^^^^^^  ^£  ^j^^l^  ^^^^  ^g  ^  ^^lg^  ^^^  ^YieiY  webs  are  most  frequently 
found  stretched  between  the  trunks  of  young  trees,  in  openings  of  groves, 
\yoods,  and  like  spots.     They  seem  to  me  more  directly  exposed  to  assault 


Fig.  309.    Leaf  nest  of  Epeira. 


340  AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

than  almost  any  other  of  our  native  Orb  weavers,  unless,  indeed,  their  pre- 
ferred site  within  the  shaded  walks  of  groves  and  woods  may  be  consid- 
ered a  protection. 

Gasteracantha,  with  its  strongly  developed  spines,  has  much  the  same 
habit  as  Acrosoma,  but  the  spines  appear  to  be  wanting  in  the  young  of 
this  genus,  the  very  age,  one  would  think,  at  which  they  are  most  needed. 
However,  the  young  of  Gasteracantha,  at  least  with  numerous  specimens 
sent  from  the  Pacific  coast,  are  almost  black  in  color,  a  feature  which  must 
certainly  be  regarded  as  protective,  if  bright  colors  best  invite  the  observa- 
tion of  enemies. 

On  the  whole,  the  conclusion  seems  to  be  justified  that  many  spiders 
which  appear  to  be  more  exposed  to  enemies  by  reason  of  bright  colors 
or  greater  size,  possess  special  variations  in  industry  and  habits  that  in 
some  degree  are  protective;  but  there  are  so  many  apparent  exceptions  to 
this,  which  require  more  careful  study,  that  no  generalization  can  now  be 
warranted. 

If  we  come  finally  to  consider  the  bearing  of  what  has  been  called 
"warning  coloration"  upon  spiders,  there  is  little  to  be  said.     In  the  case 

of  those  numerous  species  which  belong  to  the  Wanderers,  the 
am  ng"  ^^jQ^g  cannot  be  considered  as  warning,  but,  as  we  have  seen,  are 

rather  protective.  As  to  Sedentary  species,  I  cannot  think  of  any 
animal  that  would  avoid  them  as  inedible  on  account  of  their  color,  or  of 
any  influence  that  their  color  could  have  in  warning  insects  of  danger. 
In  point  of  fact,  the  colored  spiders  appear  to  be  as  delicate  morsels  to 
those  that  feed  upon  them  as  any  other  sort,  and  they  are  just  as  fre- 
quently, and  perhaps  I  may  say  even  more  frequently,  though  by  no 
means  exclusivelj^,  selected  for  such  purposes. 

That  a  warning  should  be  conveyed  to  insects  by  the  color  of  a  spider 
at  the  centre  of  its  web  seems  to  me  wholly  imaginary,  since  Sedentary 
spiders  do  not  capture  food  directly,  but  by  means  of  their  manufactured 
trapping  instruments.  Indeed,  I  have  little  faith  in  the  opinion  that  in- 
sects arc  capable  of   experiencing  anything  like  a  warning,  from  color  or 

other  causes,  against  the  presence  of  spiders.  I  feel  sure  that 
Insects      ^}j^g  jg  ^}jg  ^..^^Q  with  flies,  the  insects  which  perhaps  more  than 

„  any  other  form  the  staple  food  of  the  various  aranead  tribes.     I 
scious  of        "^  .  „ 

Danger,     have  often  been  witness   of   the   absolute  indifference  of  various 

species  of  flies  to  the  presence  of  spiders.  One  remarkable  ex- 
ample is  recorded  (Vol.  I.,  page  250),  in  which,  during  an  entire  season, 
I  observed  numbers  of  a  little  black  Diptera  settling  and  feeding  upon 
the  carcasses  of  large  blue  bottle  and  house  flies  which  had  been  trapped 
and  trussed  within  the  orbs  of  Argiope.  In  several  cases  these  little  creat- 
ures were  observed  stationed  within  the  open  jaws  of  their  gigantic  enemy, 
sipping  juices  which  tlie  spider  was  expressing  from  the  fly  on  which  she 
was  feeding. 


COLOR  AND  THE  COLOR  SENSE.  341 

A  fly  which  had  been  put  into  a  box  with  Epeira  strix  tempted  her 
in  vain  to  make  a  breakfast  upon  it.  Three  times  it  flew  into  or  against 
the  spider's  jaws  and  escaped.  Twice  it  crept  between  the  front  pair  of 
legs;  once  it  lit  upon  and  crept  up  the  hindermost  legs;  and  all  tlie  time 
was  walking  everywhere  around  her,  utterly  unconscious  of  the  presence 
of  an  enemy.  The  spider  remained  motionless,  except  when  the  fly  flew 
into  her  face,  when  she  made  an  effort  to  seize  it.  At  the  time  she  was 
seated  upon  the  bottom  of  the  box,  separate  from  any  snare  or  web,  and 
thus  without  ordinary  means  by  which  the  presence  and  locality  of  in- 
sects are  determined.  We  may  suppose  that  the  spider  was  confused  by 
the  unusual  circumstance  of  separation  from  her  web,  and  her  vision 
momentarily  impaired ;  but  the  fly,  at  least,  was  in  normal  condition, 
hunting  food  and  otherwise  acting  in  a  natural  way. 

In  numerous  other  cases  when  flies  have  been  placed  within  boxes 
where  spiders  have  been  confined,  I  do  not  remember  a  single  individual 
that  showed  the  slightest  sense  of  fear,  but  on  the  contrary  they  would 
run  all  around,  and  even  settle  upon  the  spider,  apparently  no  more  con- 
scious of  its  presence  or  of  any  peril  therefrom,  than  if  it  had  been  a 
clod  or  chip.  The  same  is  true  of  grasshoppers,  hundreds  of  which  have 
been  fed  to  the  large  tarantulas  that  from  time  to  time,  during  a  number 
of  years,  I  have  kept  in  confinement.  Of  such  insects,  at  least,  it  would 
be  highly  absurd  to  argue  anything  of  service  in  the  way  of  "  warning 
coloration."  Bright  or  dull,  large  or  small,  they  seem  to  be  absolutely 
without  consciousness  of  the  presence,  or  fear  of  the  power,  of  spiders. 

In  taking  a  summary  view  of  the  facts  above  recorded  it  may  be  said, 
in  general  terms,  that  the  influences  which  appear  to  modify  the  color  of 
spiders,  in  various  degrees  more  or  less  known,  are  the  follow- 
enera  ^^^,  Moulting  changes;  the  effects  of  advancing  age  and  ap- 
proaching dissolution ;  the  disturbance  of  gestation ;  the  distri- 
bution of  pigment  and  color  hairs  by  muscular  action ;  the  effects  of 
food,  environment,  and  general  habit;  sexual  differences  and  the  excite- 
ments of  courtship  and  mating;  and,  possibly,  inimical  influences,  such 
as  natural  enemies  and  weather  changes. 

VI. 

How  far  are  spiders  conscious  of  the  color  elements  in  their  surround- 
ings ?      They   are   found   among   leaves,   flowers,   and   blossoms   of  all   the 

varied  kinds  and  colors  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Sedentary 
Conscious- gpj^jgpg  hang  their  webs  to  the'  branches  and  leaves  of  trees, 
P  ,  and  weave   them  amidst   flowers,  often  selecting  for   them   sites 

which  strike  the  observer  as  choice  and  notable  for  beauty. 
One  may  find,  for  example,  the  pretty  web  of  Linyphia  communis  hung 
within  an  opening   upon   a  morning-glory  vine,  the  bright  colored  flowers 


342  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

of  which  encircled  the  web  like  a  charming  frame  to  a  picture.^  Again, 
one  may  see  the  round  webs  of  Epeira  spun  among  lilies,  ^  and  hung 
within  full  blossoming  sprays  of  honeysuckle.  Indeed,  at  every  point  in 
Nature  where  flowers  appear,  there  also  appear  spiders  erecting  their  domi- 
ciles, weaving  their  snares,  and  spinning  their  cocoons. 

In  like  manner  many  of  the  wandering  tribes  spend  their  lives  in 
arboreal  situations,  continually  stalking  their  prey,  and  plying  the  varied 
industries  characteristic  of  their  species  among  grasses,  shrubs,  blossom- 
ing trees,  vines,  and  beds  of  flowers.  Are  they  utterly  unconscious  of  the 
color  effects  among  which  they  continually  move?  Or  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  have  some  sense  of  color,  in  what  degree  is  it  possessed? 
These  are  interesting  questions,  and  to  some  extent  they  have  been  solved, 
although  much  remains  to  be  proved. 

It  cannot,  of  course,  be  known  that  the  light  waves  of  various  lengths, 
whose  vibrations  result  in  color,  produce  upon  the  spider's  organ  of  vision 
effects  similar  to  those  known  to  man  and  many  of  the  higher  mammals. 
But  that  some  effect  is  produced  seems  clear,  and  that  this  is  analogous 
to  the  color  sense  in  man,  we  may  perhaps  safely  assume;  for  we  can 
only  think  and  speak  of  the  sensations  of  spiders  in  terms  of  our  own 
conscious  states. 

The  late  Prof.  Paul  Bert  claimed  that  all  animals  see  the  rays  of  the 

spectrum  as  we  do ;  that  beyond  this  they  see  nothing  that  is  unseen  by 

us,  and  that,  in  the  extent  of  the  visible  region,  the  differences 

between  the  illuminating  powers  of  the  different  color  ravs  are 
taceans.  or  j 

the  same  for  them  as  for  us.^  He  rests  these  conclusions  on 
experiments  made  on  a  small  fresh  water  crustacean  belonging  to  the 
genus  Daphnia.  Sir  John  Lubbock  dissents  from  this  generalization  as 
too  sweeping  and  based  upon  an  insufiicient  foundation,^  but,  as  the 
result  of  numerous  experiments  with  Daphnia  pulex,  concludes  that  while 
it  would  be  impossible  to  prove  that  these  crustaceans  actually  perceive 
colors,  to  suggest  that  the  rays  of  various  wave  lengths  produce  on  their 
eyes  a  different  impression  other  than  that  of  color,  is  to  propose  an  en- 
tirely novel  hypothesis.  At  any  rate,  he  thinks  that  he  has  shown  that 
they  do  distinguish  between  waves  of  different  lengths,  and  prefer  those 
which  to  our  eyes  appear  green  and  yellow.^ 

On  the  other  hand,  M.  Merejkowski-  denies  to  the  crustaceans  any 
sense  of  color  whatever.  He  thinks  that  they  distinguish  very  well  the 
intensity  of  the  ethereal  vibrations,  their  amplitude,  but  not  their  number. 
In   the    mode    of    their    perception    of    light    there   is    a   great   difference 

1  Vol.  I.,  page  344,  Fig.  335.  2  Ibid.,  Fig.  104. 

*  "Arcliive  de  Phisiologie,"  1869,  page  547.  *  "Ants,  Wasps,  and  Bees,"  page  220. 

^  Sir  John  Lubbock:  "On  the  Sense  of  Color  among  some  of  the  Lower  Animals," 
Linnsean  Society's  Journal  Zoology,  Vol.  XVII.  (1883),  pa;,'e  214.  See  also  "Senses  and  In- 
stincts," page  228. 


COLOR   AND    THE   COLOR   SENSE.  343 

between  the  lower  crustaceans  and  men,  as  well  as  between  those  animals 
and  ants.  While  we  see  the  different  colors  and  their  different  intensi- 
ties, the  inferior  crustaceans  neither  behold  any  color  or  the  different 
variations  of  intensity  therein.  We  perceive  colors  as  colors,  they  per- 
ceive them  only  as  light.  ^ 

Mr.  Alfred  R.  Wallace  does  not  admit  that  the  fact  that  the  lower  ani- 
mals distinguish  what  are  to  us  diversities  of  color,  proves  that  their  sen- 
sations of  color  bear  any  resemblance  to  ours.  The  insects'  capacity  to 
distinguish  red  from  blue  may  be  and  probably  is  due  to  preceptions  of 
a  totally  distinct  nature.  ^ 

We    have    much    testimony    that    insects    have    a    decided    color    sense. 

Most   important   and   decisive  are,   perhaps,   the   remarkable   investigations 

of  Sir  John  Lubbock,  whose  experiments  indicate  that  ants  are 

c  «    sensitive   to   the   ordinary   colors   of    the   solar   spectrum.     It  be- 

Sense  of  ,  i         i  •  i 

Insects,      comes  probable,  moreover,  that  the  ultra  violet  rays  must  make 

themselves  apparent  to  ants  as  a  distinct  and  separate  color,  of 

which  we  can  form  no  idea,  but  as  unlike  the  rest  as  red  is  from  yellow 

or  green  from  violet.     He  adds,  that  as  few  of  the   colors   in  Nature  are 

pure,  but  almost  all  arise  from  the  combination  of  rays  of  different  wave 

lengths,  and  as  in  such    cases  a  visible   resultant  would   be  composed   not 

only  of  the  rays  which  we  see,  but  of  these  and  the  ultra  violet,  it  would 

appear  that  the  colors  of  objects  and   the   general  aspect  of  Nature  must 

present  to  ants  a  very  different  appearance  from  what  it  does  to  us.^ 

Lubbock  has  also  shown  that  bees  have,  a  decided  preference  between 
colors,  and  that  blue  is  distinctly  their  favorite,  although  yellow  is  much 
liked.*  He  also  demonstrates  that  wasps  are  capable  of  distinguishing 
color,  although  they  do  not  seem  to  be  so  much  guided  by  it  as  bees  are.^ 
The  fact  having  thus  been  established,  that  among  two  classes  of  the 
Arthropods,  namely,  the  Crustacea  and  the  Insecta,  there  are  found  genera 
which  show  a  decided  color  sense,  prepares  us  to  expect  the  same  fact  in 
the  case  of  the  Arachnida,  and  indeed  of  all  other  Arthropods. 

The  best  sustained  and  most  conclusive  experiments  upon  spiders  them- 
selves, of  which  I  have  knowledge,  were  made  by  Professor 
Spiders:  and  Mrs.  Peckham  in  the  neighborhood  of  Milwaukee,  Wiscon- 
Peck-  gjjj  6  Their  method  of  procedure  was  as  follows :  A  cage  was 
g  .  constructed,  formed  of  four  differently  colored  compartments, 
ments.  ^^^  made  of  glass  and  opening  freely  into  one  another.  The 
cage  was  placed  on  a  table  on  a  covered  porch,  with  the  wall 
of  the  house  on  one  side,  while  the  other  sides  were  exposed  to  light.     A 


^"Les  Crustac^s  inferieure  distinguent-ils  les  couleurs?"  (Do  the  inferior  crustaceans 
distinguish  color?)     Par  M.  Merejkowski.         ^  Wallace,  "Tropical  Nature,"  page  238. 

3  "Ants,  Bees,  and  W'asps,"  page  220.        *  Ibid.,  page  310.  ^  Ibid.,  316. 

*  "  Some  Observations  on  the  Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,"  Journal  of  Morphology,  Vol.  I., 
December,  1887. 


344  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


spider  was  then  admitted  to  the  cage  and,  after  liaving  become  sufficiently 
domesticated,  was  gently  driven  into  a  specially  colored  compartment,  say 
the  blue.  It  was  then  left  without  interference  to  select  such  position 
as  it  might  prefer  in  any  one  of  the  four  differently  colored  compartments. 
When  the  spider  had  changed  its  position  and  remained  therein  a  suffi- 
cient time  to  indicate  a  preference  for  the  color  under  which  it  rested,  it 
was  again  disturbed  and  moved  to  another  color.  If,  for  example,  it  set- 
tled within  the  red  compartment,  it  was  transferred  to  the  yellow,  and  so 
on,  a  record  being  made  of  the  various  changes  and  preferences.  This 
process  was  continued  during  several  days,  in  which  several  hundred  ex- 
periments were  made.  As  a  result  it  was  found  that  among  all 
bpiders  ^j^g  spiders  experimented  with  181  preferred  the  red,  32  the  yel- 
jjg(j  low,  11  blue,  and  13  green.     The   preference  of  the   spiders  for 

red  was  thus  decidedly  marked,  resembling,  although  in  a  more 
marked  degree,  the  preference  of  ants  for  the  same  color,  as  demonstrated 
by  Sir  John  Lubbock's  experiments,^  which  appear  to  have  suggested  those 
of  Professor  Peckham. 

A  test  case  was  made  which  gave  a  striking  result,  quite  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  experiments  as  above  described.  An  individual  of  Lycosa 
nigroventris,  which  had  shown  a  strong  preference  for  red,  choosing  that 
compartment  33  times  out  of  41,  was  temporarily  blinded  by  covering 
its  eyes  with  paraffine.  When  put  within  the  cage  it  was  found  that 
the  spider  remained  quiet  in  whatever  compartment  it  was  placed  until 
it  was  driven  out.  If  placed  in  the  blue  compartment,  with  its  eyes 
as  close  as  possible  to  the  red,  it  showed  no  inclination  to  enter,  al- 
though this  color  had  before  proved  so  strongly  attractive.  Its  prefer- 
ences, or  rather  its  locations,  during  the  resulting  experiments,  are  recorded 
as  follows : — 

Preferences  after  blinding :      Red     6,  yellow  6,  blue  6,  green  5. 

Preferences  before  blinding :  Red  33,  yellow  5,  blue  0,  green  3. 

Such  results  leave  scarcely  any  room  for  doubt  that  in  some-  way  the 
spider  had  been  influenced  by  a  color  sense,  since,  while  it  possessed 
normal  vision  it  expressed  a  most  decided  preference  for  the  red  color, 
but  when  temporarily  deprived  of  vision  settled  indifferently  and  about 
equally  in  all  the  colors  represented  in  the  series,  there  being  no  stronger 
preference  for  red  than  there  had  been  in  previous  experiments  for  the 
blue  compartment,  which  it  had  entirely  shunned.  These  results  seem  to 
justify  the  conclusion  that  there  exists  a  color  sense  in  certain  spiders. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  however,  that  in  all  the  cases  recorded,  and  ap- 
parently in  all  experimented  upon,  the  individuals  were  chosen  from  the 
Lycosids  alone.  These  spiders  undoubtedly  have  a  keen  sense  of  sight, 
although  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  in  this  respect  they  are  inferior  to 

^  "Ants,  Bees,  and  AVasps,"  page  189. 


COLOR   AND    THE    COLOR   SENSE.  345 

some   other   groups.     Their   habit  keeps  them    during   much  of  their  life 

concealed   within   earth   burrows,    or    little   caves   excavated   and   fitted    up 

by  them  under   stones,  logs,  and   like   surroundings.     They  move  over  the 

ground   or  water,  where  they  stalk  their   prey,  and   are  not  as  apt  to  be 

found  in  arboreal  situations  among   flowers,  blossoms,  and  leaves,  as   other 

tribes  of  the  Wanderers,  the  Saltigrades  and  Laterigrades. 

There  is  one  well  known  species  of  Laterigrade  spider,  Misumena  vatia, 

whose  habits  have  awakened  in  my  mind  the  query  whether  it  might  not 

be  influenced  by  a  decided  color  sense  in  the  selection  of  certain 

, .  '    sites.     Most   araneologists    have    observed    this   species    stationed 
na  vatia.  "  ^ 

upon    yellow   flowers,   as    the  golden   rod   and    the    brown    daisy 

which  is  popularly  known  in  our  section  as  "black  eyed  Susan."  Misu- 
mena lurks  upon  this  flower  with  its  legs  spread  out  within  the  very 
centre,  and  so  closely  corresponding  in  color  to  its  floral  site  that  one  must 
look  closely  ere  he  discovers  it.  The  yellow  centre  of  the  common  ox  eyed 
daisy  is  also  a  lurking  place  for  this  spider.  I  have  found  the  same  spe- 
cies nestled  within  the  petals  of  a  half  opened  tea  rose,  and  then  its  color 
also  corresponded  with  its  environment,  being  white,  with  various  delicate 
shades  of  green  and  pink.  (Plate  III.,  Fig.  2.)  In  these  cases  we  are 
forced  at  least  to  face  the  question,  was  the  spider  moved  in  such  selec- 
tion by  the  color  of  the  flower?  If  we  say  yes,  then  we  are  also  con- 
strained to  the  conclusion  that,  in  some  way,  the  aranead  must  have  been 
conscious  of  the  fact  that  its  peculiar  color  harmonized  with  the  color  of 
the  flower  which  it  sought  as  a  stalking  point  for  the  capture  of  its  prey. 

It  is  doubtless  true  for  the  most  part  that  light  is  perceived  by  spiders, 
and  arthropods  generally,  by  the  eyes,  and  not  chiefly  by  the  skin.  Sir 
John  Lubbock  has  shown,  by  a  series  of  ingenious  experiments,  that  ants 
perceive  the  ultra  violet  rays  with  their  eyes,  and  not,  as  suggested  by 
Graber,  by  the  skin  generally.  These  experiments  have  been  repeated  and 
the  conclusions  verified  by  an  observer  so  careful  and  experienced  as  Dr. 
Auguste  Forel.^  Nevertheless,  it  seems  to  me  probable  that  there  is  some, 
and  it  may  be  considerable,  perception  of  light  by  the  skin  of  spiders. 

The  abdomen  of  spiders  is  included  within  a  soft  integument  which  is 
frequently  covered  heavily  with  hairs.  May  it  not  be  that  this  soft  skin 
is 'far  more  sensitive  than  the  hard  chitinous  enclosure  of  the  abdomen  of 
insects?  May  it  not,  therefore,  be  that  such  a  spider  as  Misumena  vatia 
is  led  to  settle  within  those  flowers  which  correspond  in  color  to  itself,  by 
that  comfortable  feeling  which  results  from  the  harmony  of  an  individual 
with  its  environment,  and  which  may  be  caused,  for  all  we  know,  by  the 
fact  that  the  yellow  rays  of  the  flower  are  perceived  by  and  agreeable  to 
the  sensitive  skin  of  the  spider?  In  thinking  of  the  power  of  spiders  to 
distinguish  the  various  hues,  may  we  not  be  justified  in  calling  into  play 

^  Lubbock  on  the  Senses  of  Animals,  page  211. 


346  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

this  sensitiveness  of  the  entire  skin,  instead  of  limiting  the  perception  to 
the  eyes  alone? 

There  is  indeed  another  theory  which  may  be  suggested,  namely,  that 
the  color  surroundings  of  the  spider,  in  some  manner  not  now  explicable, 
so  rapidly  influence  the  organism  of  the  creature  that  a  change  of  color 
is  produced  in  harmony  with  its  environment.  Can  we  suppose,  in  this 
case,  that  the  spider  possesses  the  power  to  influence  at  will  the  chromat- 
ophores  or  pigment  bodies,  so  that  they  may  change  her  color  with  chang- 
ing site? 

There  is  another  explanation  of  the  above  peculiar  habit  of  Misumena. 
Many  insects  are  strongly  attracted  by  yellow  colors,  and  as  insects  are 
the  chief  food  of  spiders,  it  is  natural  that  the  familiar  resorts 
Seeking  Qf  insects  should  be  the  places  most  affected  by  spiders.  That 
T?^^°,  insects  have  such  attraction  to  colors  has  already  been  shown, 
and  that  they  are  drawn  to  yellow  colored  flowers  has  been  fully 
established  by  Miiller  in  his  remarkable  volume  on  Alpine  flowers.^  This 
author  gives  a  table  recording  the  numerous  visits  of  various  insects  to 
flowers  of  different  hues ;  and  a  study  of  the  table  shows  that  butterflies, 
bees,  flies,  and  gnats,  and  other  insects  manifest  a  strong  preference  for 
yellowish  white  and  for  yellow  flowers.  With  such  a  fact  as  this  in  view, 
we  may,  perhaps,  conclude  that  the  habit  of  Thomisus  and  Misumena  to 
frequent  flowers  of  the  character  above  described,  resolves  itself  into  the 
well  known  instinct  of  all  animals  to  seek  their  food  in  those  resorts 
where  the  supply  is  most  abundant  and  accessible.  This  explanation  does 
not,  of  course,  exclude  the  fact  that  the  spider,  in  seeking  such  favorable 
site,  may  be  guided  by  its  sense  of  color,  but  it  reduces  it  to  a  subordi- 
nate rank. 

VII. 

Walckenaer  ^  advanced  the  idea  that  the  form  of  the  cocoon  corresponds 
with  that  of  the  abdomen  of  the  mother.  This  is  in  some  measure  cor- 
rect, for  the  abdomens  of  spiders  have  most  frequently  an  oval 
^r  ^1°^  shape,  and  this  is  substantially  the  shape  of  the  cocoon.  But 
to  Co-  when  one  comes  to  compare  the  shapes  of  the  abdomens  of  in- 
coons.  dividual  spiders  with  the  shapes  of  their  cocoons,  the  excep- 
tions are  so  numerous  and  decixled  that  no  such  generalization 
can  be  accepted. 

The  same  author  suggested  that  some  correspondence  exists  between 
the  color  of  the  cocoon  and  that  of  the  mother's  abdomen.  The  facts, 
however,  at  least  as  far  as  American  spiders  are  concerned,  will  not  sus- 
tain this  theory,  except  in  a  general  way.  For  example,  the  colors  of 
the  abdomen  of  Argiope  cophinaria  are  yellow,  black,  white,    and   brown. 


1  Miiller,  Allien  Blumen,  page  487.  ^  Apt^res,  Vol.  I.,  page  147. 


COLOR   AND    THE   COLOR   SENSE.  347 

The  colors  of  her  cocoon  are  yellow,  white,  and  brown.  Argiope  argy- 
raspis  has  yellow,  black,  and  silvery  white  upon  her  abdomen.  Her  co- 
coon is  yellow  and  white,  Argiope  argenteola  has  an  abdomen  whose 
colors  are  metallic  white  or  silver,  yellow,  and  black.  Her  cocoon  is  green 
or  yellow,  or  a  combination  of  green  and  yellow  on  the  outside  with  a 
white  tuft  within.  The  Insular  spider  has  for  its  abdominal  colors  yellow, 
orange,  and  brown.  Her  cocoon  is  a  uniform  yellow.  The  Bifid  spider 
has  for  its  prevailing  colors  a  light  greenish  hue  intermingled  with  a  livid 
yellow  and  a  little  brown.     Her  cocoon  is  a  dull  green  color. 

The  prevailing  colors  of  Orbweavers'  cocoons  may  be  said  to  be  yellow 
and  white.  Sometimes  the  yellow  shades  into  green,  sometimes  into  brown. 
The  dark  or  blackish  cocoons,  when  examined  carefully,  are 
Prevaihng  found  to  owe  their  shade  to  the  compactness  of  the  threads  of 
^  ,  which   they   are   spun   and    the   presence    of    gum.     The    above 

colors,  namely,  yellow  and  white,  are  the  prevailing  ones  among 
Orbweavers  themselves.  The  yellows  sometimes  shade  into  green,  oftener 
into  brown,  livid,  and  orange.  The  white  frequently  becomes  metallic, 
having  a  silver  sheen.  There  is,  therefore,  some  basis  for  suggesting  a 
correspondence  between  the  color  of  a  cocoon  and  that  of  the  spider,  or 
abdomen  of  the  spider,  which  spins  it.  The  harmony  is  more  apparent, 
as  far  as  my  observation  extends,  among  Orbweavers  than  other  araneads; 
but  there  are  not  enough  facts  in  hand  to  justify  a  generalization. 

Turning  from  the  Orbweavers  to  other  tribal  groups,  we  find  that  the 
exceptions  are  so  many  and  striking  that  'they  appear  at  once  to  wholly 
disparage  the  theory.  Most  Citigrades  and  Tunnelweavers,  and  many  Tube- 
weavers,  are  dark  colored,  but  their  cocoons  are  quite  uniformly  white. 
For  example,  the  well  known  American  tarantula,  whose  large  cocoon  is  a 
white  ovoid  ball  three  inches  long,  has  a  dark  reddish  brown  and  black 
coat, 

Tegenaria  medicinalis  is  a  quite  dark,  almost  black  spider,  but  she 
spins  a  white  cocoon.  The  same  is  true  of  Tegenaria  persica,  whose  clus- 
tered cocoons  are  white  when  originally  spun,  although  the  mother 
-J  ,  covers  them  with  dirt,  and  thus  soils  the  appearance.    The  Speck- 

led Tubeweaver  is  a  dull  creature,  yet  she  spins  a  beautiful  white 
cocoon,  although  she  also  mars  its  whiteness  by  adding  extraneous  mate- 
rial. With  many  of  the  Drassids  the  same  rule  obtains.  Without  multi- 
plying examples,  this  may  be  said  fairly  to  represent  the  color  relations  of 
American  araneads  to  their  cocoonery. 

An  examination  of  the  colors  of  European  cocoons,  as  given  by  Walck- 
enaer.  Black  wall,  or  Simon,  or  by  Staveley,^  in  her  tabular  arrangement 
of  cocoons  and  eggs,  will  show  that  the  same  fact  obtains  among  the  spi- 
ders of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,     We  learn  from  this  table  that  a  great 

■7 

1  British  Spiders,  pages  269-275. 


348  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


majority  of  British  cocoons  are  white ;  green  or  greenish,  yellow,  and  yellow 
brown  being  tlie  other  colors  represented.  These  colors  are  distributed 
quite  indifferently  of  the  maternal  colors. 

The  color  of  the  silk  extruded  from  the  spinnerets  of  spiders  of  all 
tribes  in  the  construction  of  snares  is,  with  few  exceptions,  white,  some- 
times having  a  steel  blue  tint,  and  often  a  lustre  w-hich  gives  it 
^nw  ^  ^^^^  appearance  of  spun  glass.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this 
rule,  as,  for  example,  the  round  web  of  Nephila  is  uniformly 
woven  with  yellow  silk  ;  and  perhaps  a  wider  study  of  the  spinningwork 
of  araneads  will  show  that  there  are  other  exceptions,  and  perhaps  many 
of  them. 

The  differences  of  color  in  the  spinning  silk  of  araneads  appear  in  the 
construction  of  the  cocoon.  Many  cocoons  are  composed  of  white  silk,  per- 
haps it  may  be  said  the  majority  of  them,  but  others  again  show  some 
pretty  varieties  of  color,  and  in  some  species  several  hues  of  silk  will  be 
used  in  weaving  one  cocoon.^ 

Among  Orbweavers  the  colors  used  in  cocooning  are  principally  white  ; 
but  one  frequently  finds  yellow  in  various  shades,  green,  and  sometimes 
brown.  A  few  Lineweavers  make  colored  cocoons,  and  among  Tubeweavers 
may  be  found  a  few  species  whose  cocoons  are  various  shades  of  red,  some- 
times quite  bright.  I  often  find  these  cocoons  in  the  shape  of  little  plates, 
with  the  convexity  upward,  attached  to  bark  and  stones,  and  showing  a 
very  dainty  appearance,  but  have  not  been  able  to  fully  identify  them  with 
the  species  making  them. 

An  examination  of  the  spinning  glands  of  spiders  under  the  micro- 
scope will  show,  in  some  species  at  least,  as  Argiope  cophinaria,  several 
colors  represented  in  the  liquid  contents.  The  causes  controlling  the  secre- 
tion of  these  specially  colored  silks  are,  of  course,  physiological,  but  one 
cannot  presume  to  guess  even  what  they  may  be. 

VIII. 

The  forms  in  which  the  coloring  materials  are  arranged  constitute  the 
various  patterns  or  marks  that  characterize  spider  species.     These  patterns 

are  most  varied  and  prominent  upon  the  dorsum  of  the  abdo- 
p  .,         .  men,  although   the  venter  and  the  sternum   are   also   sometimes 

highly  colored.  While  there  is  much  variety  in  the  arrangement 
of  these  patterns,  there  is,  on  the  whole,  a  general  tendency  to  form  a 
folium  or  leaf  shaped  outline,  scalloped  on  the  outer  margin.  This  folium 
outline  appears  to  have  some  orderly  relation  to  the  little  pits  or  points  of 
muscular  attachment,  and,  in  a  general  way,  may  be  said  to  be  regulated 
by  those   sections  of   the   abdomen   which    have    commonly    been   held   to 


1  See  Chapter  IV.,  page  80,  and  Plate  IV.,  Figs.  3,  4,  5. 


COLOR   AND   THE    COLOR  SENSE.  349 


indicate  a  segmentation.  In  other  words,  some  writers  are  disposed  to  con- 
sider the  abdomen  as  segmented,  and,  in  a  rough  way,  the  symmetrical 
divisions  in  the  pattern  folium  may  be  said  to  outline  the  articulations  of 
the  segments. 

The  cephalothorax  is  most  frequently  uniform  in   its  color,  commonly 
with  longitudinal  stripes  of  different  shade.      It  follows,  in  a  general  way, 
the   coloration   of   the   legs,   which    it   resembles   in   its   chitinous 
Cephalo-    character,  the  entire  fore  part  of  the  body  having  the  hardness 
J  T         which  is  characteristic  of  the  enclosing  walls  of  insects.     The  ab- 
domen, on  the  contrary,  is  enclosed  in  a  soft  skin,  a  fact  which 
exposes  it  to  injury,  and  causes   its   rapid  decay  after   death,   one   of  the 
principal   difficulties  in  the  way  of   preserving   specimens  of  spiders.     On 
the  cephalothorax  there  are  often  several  longitudinal  bands,  one  on  each 
side,  near  and  indeed  quite  surrounding  the  margin,  and  two  drawn  from 
the  suture   of  the   caput  backward.     There   is   also   frequently  a   band   of 
color  in  the  median  line  from  the  middle  of  the  eye  space  backward.     The 
legs  are  usually  colored  like  the  cephalothorax,  and  are  generally  uniform 
in  hue,  except  that  at   the  joints  there  are   rings  of  color  usually  darker 
than  the  rest  of  the  leg.     The  feet  are  nearly  always  black  or  blackish. 

In  order  to  determine  if   possible  the  structural  causes  producing  color 

in  spiders,  I  made  studies  from  a  number  of  dissections  of  various  species 

chosen   with    special   regard   to  variety   and   brilliancy   of   colors. 

5"^^®^       Among  these  are  Argyroepeira  hortorum,  Argiope  argyraspis,  Ar- 

giope   cophinaria,  Argiope   argenteola,    Epeira   insularis,  Gastera- 

cantha  cancer,  and   Phidippus  morsitans.^      I  do  not  speak  of   the   results 

positively,  for   the   studies  are   in  a  field  where   trained   histologists   alone 

are  competent  to  decide.     But  I  venture  to  give  some  indications  of  what 

appeared   to   me,  in   the  hope  that  others  may  follow  the  path  suggested, 

and  reach  positive  determinations. 

The   metallic  white  upon   the   cephalothorax    of  Argiope   argyraspis    is 
produced    chiefly   by   a   vast    number    of  white    hairs.     These    are    packed 
closely  one   upon  another  and   reflect  white   light,  the  combined 
„  reflections  forming   the   metallic  appearance  of   the  object.     The 

metallic  hues  of  the  abdomen  of  Argyraspis  are  produced  in 
part  by  closely  thatched  white  hairs  that  reflect  white  light  in  the  manner 
of  those  upon  the  cephalothorax.  The  black  transverse  bands  on  the  ab- 
domen are  produced  by  amorphous  granules  of  black  pigment  just  beneath 
the  skin,  which  thin  out  towards  the  margin  of  the  band,  becoming  yellow 
as  they  diminish.  There  appears  also  to  be  a  diffused  yellow  stain  in  the 
chitine,  and,  in  addition,  white  pigment  bodies  which  resemble  the  chro- 
matophores  that  give  the  color  in  frogs  and  lizards,  for  example. 

'  I  had  purposed  to  include  in  this  vohime  a  plate  of  colored  drawings  representing,  in 
a  general  way,  the  indications  of  these  studies,  but  snn<lry  <lisappointments  and  delays  have 
compelled  the  postponement  of  this  plate  to  the  third  volume. 


350  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


In  Argiope  cophinaria  the  metallic  color  of  the  cephalothorax  is  pro- 
duced by  hairs  in  the  same  way  as  with  Argyraspis.  These  hairs  are 
wavy ;  there  appear  to  be  two  kinds,  one  flattened,  with  a  wavy 
'  outline,  having  somewhat  the  appearance  of  cotton  fibre,  which 
may,  however,  be  produced  by  irregular  cavities  or  spaces  within  the 
hairs.  Others  again,  present  a  similar  appearance,  but  are  cylindrical. 
On  the  abdomen  of  Cophinaria  the  colors  are  produced  chiefly  by  pig- 
ment granules  beneath  the  epiderm,  the  chitinous  layers  of  which  are 
arranged  in  beautiful  undulating  lines. 

The  pretty  orange  color  upon  the  thigh  of  Epeira  insularis  is  pro- 
duced chiefly  by  vast  numbers  of  pigment  granules  lying  beneath  the 
epiderm,  the  secreted  layers  of  which  are  arranged  in  diamond  shaped 
figures. 

Argyroepeira  hortorum,  the  most  beautifully  colored  of  our  indigenous 
spiders,  makes  a  fine  object  for  mounting  in  order  to  show  colors.  The 
hairs  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  in  producing  these  varied 
^'^^  hues,  which  are  due  to  green  and  yellow  pigment  granules,  and 

„  . ,  to  what  appear  to  be  chromatophores.     These  chromatophores  are 

white  for  the  most  part,  though  some  of  them  are  yellow  tinted, 
and  they  yield  a  strong  white  reflection,  which,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  chief 
agent  in  producing  the  brilliant  silvery  white  of  this  aranead. 

In  the  case  of  Phidippus  morsitans  the  color  of  the  abdomen  is  due 
to  several  causes.  The  black  shades  wath  dark  green  metallic  reflection 
on  the  sides  are  produced  chiefly  by  dark  green  pigment  granules  under- 
neath the  skin,  and  in  part  by  black  hairs.  The  white  spots  on  the  sides 
of  the  dorsum  are  composed  of  peculiar  white  lanceolate  hairs  laid  one 
upon  another.  They  are  marked  by  longitudinal  striations  on  the  surface, 
which  give  it,  under  the  lens,  the  appearance  of  a  minute  ear  of  Indian 
com.  The  little  yellow  lunettes  of  color  on  the  dorsum  near  the  apex 
appear  to  be  composed  of  somewhat  similar  hairs,  of  nearly  the  same 
shape,  but  a  little  more  elongated,  yellow  in  color,  and  these,  instead  of 
longitudinal  grooves,  have  slight  feather  like  projections  or  papillae  irregu- 
larly distributed  over  the  surface.  ^ 

The  remarkable  metallic  green  on  the  mandibles  of  this  species  is  pro- 
duced by  a  method  quite  different  from  any  of  those  above  named.  The 
surface  of  the  mandibles  is  broken  up  into  a  number  of  rugosities,  ar- 
ranged, though  somewhat  irregularly,  in  arcs  of  circles.  These  ridges 
appear  to  act  as  prisms,  refracting  the  light;  and  to  this  evidently  is  due 
the  brilliant  metallic  color  which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  all  observ- 
ers of  the  species.  Under  a  microscope  the  minute  lunettes  and  waves  of 
green  light  are  readily  distinguished;  but  the  natural  eye  does  not  separate 


^  These  hairs  in  the  color  patches  on  the  abdomen  of  P.  morsitans  appear  to  be  of  the 
type  of  Mr.  Wagner's  clubshaped  hairs.     (Fig.  2i)7.) 


COLOR  AND  THE  COLOR  SENSE. 


351 


Sum- 
mary : 
Color 
Causes 


the  several  groups  of  refracted   rays,  and  perceives  them  as  an  unbroken 
band  of  metallic  green  color. 

These  cursory  examinations  appear  to  suggest  that  the  structural  causes 
of  color  in  spiders  are  probably  the  following :  First,  color  stains  diffused 
throughout  the  tissues;  second,  pigment  granules  of  various  hues 
distributed  beneath  the  skin ;  third,  pigment  bodies  or  chromat- 
ophores ;  fourth,  the  reflection  of  light  from  the  surfaces  of 
thickly  overlaid  or  thatched  hairs ;  fifth,  by  hairs  of  various  col- 
ors and  peculiar  forms,  in  some  degree  analogous  to  the  scales 
of  the'  Lepidoptera  ;  sixth,  certain  colors,  particularly  the  brilliant  metallic 
colors,  are  produced  by  refraction  of  light  from  broken  or  ridged  surfaces 
of  the  epiderm,  that  appear  to  act  as  prisms. 

Little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  structural  causes  of  color  in  spiders, 
and  scarcely  more  to  the  form  of  the  color  hairs,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  grouped  and  overlaid  in  order  to 
form  the  various  color  spots  and  pattern 
outlines  produced  exclusively  or  in  part  by 
them.  The  subject  might  well  repay  the 
careful  study  of  the  microscopist,  and  it 
may  often  be  found  that  these  color  hairs 
will  show  many  varying  forms,  correspond- 
ing with  genera  or  even  species. 

Mr.  Emerton  says  ^  that  the  hairs  or 
"  scales "  usually  found  on  the  Drassidse 
and  Agalenidse  are  feathered. ^     Each  scale, 

as  far  as  he  had  noticed,  is  uniformly  colored.  Along  the  edges 
of  the  red  spot  in  Geotrecha  crocata,  for  example,  red  and  black 
scales  are  mixed,  but  each  scale  is  either  all  red  or  all  black. 
The  scales  of  Micaria  longipes^  are  either  white  or  brown.  The  irides- 
cence of  the  abdomen,  which  is  very  marked  in  certain  lights,  he  had  seen 
on  the  individual  scales.  In  general  form  these  hairs  resemble  those  which 
I  have  seen  on  Phidippus  morsitans. 


Pig.  310.    Fig.  311.  Fig.  312.     Fig.  313. 

Micaria  longipes. 
Figs.  310  and  313.    White  scales  from  spots 
on  abdomen.     Fig.  311.  Scale  from  hind- 
er half  of  abdomen.     Fig.  312.  Scale  from 
front  of  abdomen.    (After  Emerton.) 


Color 
Scales. 


^  In  a  letter  to  the  author. 
^  Id.,  plate  iii.,  Fig.  1. 


2  See  New  Eng.  Drassidse,  plate  iii.,  Fig.  3,  e. 


PART  V -HOSTILE  AGENTS :   THEIR  INFLUENCE. 

OHAPTEE  XII. 
MIMICRY  IN  SPIDERS. 

The  subject  of  mimicry  among  spiders,  as  with  other  animals,  is  most 
interesting  and  yet  most  difficult  to  treat.  I  accept  the  word  as  one  gen- 
erally used  among  naturalists,  to  express  certain  resemblances,  more  or  less 
complete,  between  a  spider  and  surrounding  objects  in  Nature.  I  do  not 
include  within  the  word  the  idea  that  the  volition  of  the  spider  controls 
these  resemblances,  except  in  a  very  limited  degree,  which  will  hereafter 
be  pointed  out.  The  theories  of  the  origin  of  mimicry,  which  have  been 
discussed  by  many  naturalists,  appear  to  me  to  rank  little  higher  than 
more  or  less  ingenious  suggestions  unsupported  by  facts  sufficient  to  justify 
them  as  scientific  inferences.  But  at  present  this  condition  of  things 
seems  unavoidable,  and  by  patient  and  careful  accumulation  of  facts  chaos 
may  at  last  yield  to  order  and  well  defined  law. 

Among  spiders  the  various  kinds  of  mimicry  may  be  divided  into  the 
following :  First,  industrial  mimicry  of  plants  and  other  objects  or  envi- 
ronment ;  second,  form  mimicry  of  animals ;  third,  form  mimicry  of  envi- 
ronment ;  fourth,  color  mimicry ;  fifth,  cocoon  mimicry ;  and  sixth,  death 
mimicry.     The  last  of  these  will  be  considered  in  another  connection. 

I. 

The  most  remarkable  examples  of  industrial  mimicry  of  surrounding 
objects  are  to  be  found  among  the  Trapdoor  spiders,  as  recorded  in  the 
charming  pages  of  Moggridge,  some  of  whose  figures  I  have 
Industrial  ^jjy^g}^^  well  to  reproduce  in  Plate  II.  of  this  volume.  These 
of  E  i-  ^^^^^^^^^y  which  make  burrows  in  the  earth,  whose  openings  are 
ronment.  closed  by  doors  swung  upon  a.  hinge  of  thickened  silk,  are  in 
the  habit  of  covering  the  outside  of  their  doors  with  dry  leaves 
or  living  moss,  so  that  they  resemble  the  surrounding  site,  in  which  they 
are  placed  so  closely  that  even  Mr.  Moggridge,  when  looking  for  them, 
was  often  deceived. 

Perhaps  in  no  case  is  the  concealment  more  complete  than  when  dead 
leaves  are  employed  to  cover  the  door.  In  some  instances  a  single  withered 
olive  leaf  is  placed  in  to  cover  the  trap.  In  others  several  leaves  are  woven 
together  with  bits  of  wood  and  roots,  as  seen  at  Plate  II.,  Figs.  1   and  2, 

(352) 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  353 


which  represent  the  projecting  entrance  of  a  nest  of  Nemesia  meredionalis 
at  Mentone.  Fig.  1  shows  the  door  closed  and  well  disguised  by  re- 
semblance to  the  dry  olive  leaves  which  cover  the  ground  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  nest.  Fig.  2  shows  the  same  tube  with  the  door  thrown  open.  The 
effectiveness  of  this  disguise  is  at  once  apparent.  It  may  be  questioned, 
however,  whether  it  is  made  with  deliberate  intent  at  mimicry.  The  spi- 
der's purpose  in  attaching  leaves  to  the  outer  surface  of  its  door  is  doubt- 
less protective.  But  may  it  not  be  that,  moved  by  ordinary  self  protective 
instinct,  it  simply  took  the  first  available  material,  without  regard  to 
mimetic  resemblance  ? 

I  may  illustrate  this  by  referring  to  my  studies  of  the  parasol  or  cut- 
ting ant  of  Texas.  ^  My  first  experience  of  a  formicary  of  these  insects  was 
discouraging.  I  had  encamped  in  its  vicinity  on  the  strength  of 
u  mg-  information  that  it  was  a  large  and  active  hill;  but  at  a  morning 
visit  it  seemed  utterly  abandoned,  not  a  sign  of  life  or  activity 
anywhere  present.  The  mound  was  dotted  over  with  forest  chippage,  bits 
of  twigs,  dried  leaves  from  an  overhanging  live  oak,  but  no  entrance  into 
the  nest  appeared.  Returning  to  the  place  in  the  evening  I  found  that 
vigorous  life  had  succeeded  the  semblance  of  death.  Numerous  openings 
appeared  all  over  the  surface  of  the  mound,  out  of  which  myriads  of 
insects  were  pouring,  streaming  away  into  the  surrounding  country,  engaged 
especially  in  harvesting  leaves  from  the  immense  live  oak  tree  that  over- 
hung. The  change  was  readily  explained  by  subsequent  studies.  I  found 
that  the  ants  are  in  the  habit  of  closing  up 'their  doors  after  their  night's 
work,  and  when  the  upper  part  of  the  tubes  which  lead  into  the  main 
formicary  have  been  filled  to  the  distance  of  about  an  inch  with  various 
chippage  and  sand,  piles  of  dry  leaves  and  twigs  are  erected  above  the  open- 
ing. These  chips  form  a  part  of  the  permanent  property  of  the  ants,  for 
I  observed  that  the  same  pieces  were  used  day  after  day.  The  mimicry 
in  this  case  was  complete.  The  surface  of  the  mound  was  made  to  re- 
semble a  bit  of  natural  soil  covered  over  with  piles  of  dried  leaves  and 
twigs.  It  effectually  deceived  me,  although  I  was  on  the  lookout  for  the 
insects.  Yet  I  have  never  thought  that  the  ants  designed  to  produce  such 
a  mimetic  harmony.  They  simply  gathered  such  dry  leaves  and  other  ma- 
terials as  were  convenient,  and  the  fact  that  these  so  closely  resembled  the 
surface  of  the  mound  was  accidental.  May  it  not  be  that  some  of  the 
striking  resemblances  in  the  doors  of  Trapdoor  spiders  are  produced  in 
the  same  way? 

Striking  illustrations  of  this  mimetic  resemblance  are  shown  in  Figs. 
3,  4,  and  5  of  Plate  II.  Fig.  3  represents  a  moss  covered  sod,  pierced  by 
the  tube  of  the  nest  of  Nemesia  coementaria,  the  door  of  which  is  entirely 
concealed   from   view,  and   only  discovered   by  one  who   happened   to   cut 

^  Proceedings  Acad.  Nat.  8ci.,  Phila.,  1879,  page  33,  sq. 


354  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


through  it  in  digging  up  a   plant.     The  moss  on  the  trap  grew  as  vigor- 
ously, and   had   in   every  way   the  same  appearance,  as  that  rooted  in  the 

surrounding  earth,  and  so  perfect  was  the  deception  that  Mr.  Mog- 
Mimetic  gridge  found  it  impossible  to  detect  the  position  of  the  closed 
T''^^"         door,  even  when  holding  it  in   his  hand.      No  doubt  many  nests 

escape  observation  in  this  way,  and  the  artifice  is  more  surpris- 
ing because  there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  that  this  door  garden  is  delib- 
erately planted  with  moss  by  the  spider,  and  not  the  effect  of  mere  chance 
growth.  1  Figs.  4  and  5  represent  a  section  of  earth  covered  with  a  delicate 
moss,  which  includes  the  trapdoor  of  Nemesia  coementaria.  The  door  is 
shown  open  at  Fig.  4  and  closed  at  Fig.  5,  and  the  concealment  of  the  door, 
although  not  so  striking  as  in  Fig.  3,  is  nevertheless  quite  manifest. 

In  the  case  of  Trapdoor  spiders  which  make  a  thin  or  "  wafer  door,"  as 
Moggridge  calls  it,  there  is  but  a  thin  coating  of  earth  on  their  upper  sur- 
face, since  it  is  rare  to  find  any  of  the  larger  mosses  or  lichens  growing 
upon  them.  But,  as  if  to  compensate  for  this  deficiency,  a  variety  of  for- 
eign materials  is  employed,  which  are  scarcely  ever  found  in  the  thick  cork 
doors,  such  as  dead  leaves,  bits  of  roots,  straw,  of  grasses,  etc.,  and  Mog- 
gridge had  seen  freshly  cut  green  leaves,  apparently  gathered  for  the  pur- 
pose, spun  into  a  door  which  had  recently  been  constructed.^ 

There  is  the  widest  possible  difference  between  nest  and  nest  in  the  de- 
gree of  perfection  in  concealment ;   and  although,  as  a  rule,  the  surface  of 

the   upper  door  harmonizes  well  with    the  general  appearance  of 

.     ,.       "  its    surroundings,   there   are  some   individual    nests    in   which   it 
tection.  ° 

readily  catches  the  eye  and  even  attracts  attention.  Mr.  Mog- 
gridge saw  nests  in  mossy  banks  where  the  door,  being  made  of  nothing 
but  earth  and  silk,  showed  distinctly  as  brown  patches  against  the  green. 
These  doors  even  when  surrounded  by  earth  were  often  easily  detected, 
because  when  they  dried  up,  as  they  quickly  did,  they  became  much  paler 
in  color  than  the  earth  of  the  bank  which  retained  its  moisture.^ 

Thus  it  seems  that  the  simple  instinct  to  cover  in  the  door,  and  so 
protect  the  artificer  from  exposure  to  weather  and  enemies,  was  the  domi- 
nant motive.  Material  was  chosen  from  the  immediate  vicinage  suitable 
and  convenient  for  closure,  and  no  purpose  appears  in  the  act  to  select 
such  material  as  would  disguise  the  nest.  In  other  words,  a  sense  of  se- 
curity by  means  of  sheltering  barriers  dominated  the  spider's  mind,  and 
security  by  means  of  mimetic  harmony  or  protective  resemblance  appears 
to  have  had  no  place  at  all. 

Some  support  for  this  opinion  appears  to  me  to  be  derived  from  Mr. 
Moggridge's  statements  as  to  the  mode  in  which  some  of  these  Trapdoor 
spiders  work.  He  fastened  back  the  doors  of  several  tunnels,  in  order  to 
test  the  mode  in  which  the  inmate  would  deal  with  this  difiiculty.  In  one 
p — ■ _ 

1  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  97.  ^  i\)\±^  page  103.  ^  i^jj^^^  p^ge  103. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  355 


case  he  observed  that  a  new  covering  had  been  cleverly  extemporized  out 
of  three  fallen  olive  leaves,  taken  from  the  vicinity,  which  were  loosely 
spun  together  and  attached  by  one  or  two  threads  to  the  margin  of  the 
tube.  This  formed  an  admirable  concealment,  but  did  not  move  freely 
as  a  door,  the  web  being  too  imperfect.  Two  days  later,  however,  it  was 
completed,  and  had  become  a  perfect  door,  moving  on  a  hinge  just  within 
and  below  that  of  the  former  door,  which  still  remained  as  it  had  been 
fastened.  The  other  nests  remained  in  the  same  condition  as  before,  only 
that  a  little  moss  had  been  dragged  into  the  mouth  of  one  tube,  which  had 
been  partially  closed  with  its  own  lip.^ 

Moggridge  further  states  that  Trapdoor  spiders,  Nemesia  meridionalis, 
will  make  use  of  various  objects  strewed  near  their  nests,  in  order  to  build 
up  a  new  door.  This  he  tested  by  placing  bits  of  scarlet  braid 
Nearby  along  with  particles  of  moss  and  fragments  of  leaves,  in  a  circle 
„  ^^  around  the  opening  of  the  tube,  and  about  two  inches  away 
from  it.  Nevertheless,  it  is  apparent  that  these  Trapdoor  spiders 
do  exercise  some  discrimination  in  the  choice  of  materials,  for  Mr.  Mog- 
gridge observed  several  instances  in  which,  when  the  door  of  the  cork 
nest  had  been  removed,  if  the  door  had  been  originally  covered  with  moss, 
it  would  again  be  used  in  its  reconstruction,  even  though  the  mouth  of 
the  tube  were  then  surrounded  by  bare  earth. 

Thus,  in  reasoning  upon  the  power  of  the  spider  to  disguise  the  en- 
trance to  its  habitation  by  mimicking  surrounding  natural  objects,  we  are 
brought  in  contact  with  this  apparent  defect  of  rational  action.  This  point 
Moggridge  further  illustrates  by  a  case  in  which  he  had  cut  out  a  little 
clod  of  mossy  earth  about  two  inches  thick  and  three  inches  square  on  the 
surface,  containing  the  top  of  the  tube  and  the  moss  covered  cork  door  of 
Nemesia  coementaria.  He  found,  on  revisiting  the  tube  six  days  later,  that 
a  new  door  had  been  made,  and  that  the  spider  had  mounted  up  to  fetch 
moss  from  the  undisturbed  bank  above,  planting  it  in  the  earth  which 
formed  the  crown  of  the  door.  Here  the  moss  actually  called  the  atten- 
tion of  an  observer  to  the  trap,  which  lay  in  the  little  plain  of  brown 
earth  made  by  the  digging.  He  subsequently  saw  many  examples  of  the 
same  sort,  and  purposely  removed  several  cork  doors  from  mossy  banks, 
in  order  to  observe  this  point.  ^ 

If  in  the  above  cases  the  spiders  appear  to  have  been  guided  by  the 
simple  wish  to  protect  themselves  with  the  first  available  material,  in 
other  cases  the  mimicry  seems  to  be  due  to  the  natural  secret- 
Hunters     iveness  of    animals   seeking   prey.     Mr.    Moggridge    detected    the 

remains  of  insects,  and  especially  ants,  in  the  nests  which  he  ex- 
iveness.  '  '    ^  ^    - 

amined  in  situ.     Frequently,  however,  one  may  open   several   m 

succession  without  finding  any  of   this  debris,  and  at  other   times   it  will 
^  Trapdcjor  Spiders,  page  121.  ^  Ibid.,  page  120. 


356 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


only  be  detected  beneath  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  layers  of  silk  having 
been  spun  over  successive  layers  of  refuse.  The  horny  crops  of  ants  form 
by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  these  remains,  and  Moggridge  was  struck 
by  the  number  of  instances  in  which,  while  digging  out  ants'  nests  at 
Mentone,  he  found  Trapdoor  burrows,  especially  those  of  Nemesia  mander- 
stjernae  and  Nemesia  moggridgii  in  their  midst,  the  tubes  often  traversing 
the  very  heart  of  the  ants'  colony,  and  coming  into  close  contact  with 
their  galleries  and  chambers. 

In  these  instances  the  trapdoors  had  almost  always  escaped  his  notice, 
and,  indeed,  they  so  closely  resembled  the  surface  of  the  ground  that  even 
when  he  knew,  from  having  accidentally  cut  across  the  tube  below  the 
ground,  that  one  of  these  doors  must  lie  near  a  given  spot,  yet  he  could 
only  discover  it  by  following  the  passage  below  upwards.  This  perfect 
concealment  the  discoverer  thought  of  essential  importance  to  the  spider's 
success  in  life,  for  if  they  once  alarmed  the  whole  colony  of  ants  and  let 

them  know  the  exact  whereabouts  of  their 
lurking  place,  they  would  soon  learn  to 
avoid  it.^ 

The  fact  of  mimetic  resemblance  in  the 
tubular  snare  of  the  Purse  web  spider  has 
already  been  alluded  to.  I  have  seen  hun- 
dreds of  these  in  various  parts  of  Florida, 
and  have  before  me  several  score  speci- 
mens. These  are  covered  on  the  outside 
with  particles  of  sand,  and  even  more  free- 
ly with  the  brown  wood  mold  which  has 
accumulated  in  large  quantities  around  the 
trunks  of  trees  in  Floridian  forests  where 
the  spider  abounds.  The  resemblance  of 
the  tube  to  the  bark  of  the  tree  against 
which  it  is  planted  is  close,  much  closer, 
in  most  cases,  than  is   represented   in  the 

Fig.  314.     The  tree  Trapdoor  spider's  nest,     drawing    Plate    II.,    Fig.    7.        As    the   Spider 
Pseudidiops  opifex.    (After  Simon.)  ■        -,  ^  n  n    n        -, 

IS  dependent  for  her  supply  of  food  upon 

the   number   of   insects   that   crawl   upon   her  tube,   we   may  suppose  that 

-u^^^   derives  considerable   advantage   from  this  resemblance,   inas- 

Spider       ^^^ch  as  it  allows  her  to  creep  upward  to  where  her  victim  rests, 

or  encourages  the  victim  to  crawl  towards  the  point  where   she 

lies  in  wait  to  fling  her  web  around  it. 

An  example  of  nest  architecture  among  Trapdoor  spiders  which  may 
be  classed  in  the  same  category  as  the  above,  is  a  species  which  Mr.  Eu- 
gene Simon  describes  as  Pseudidiops  opifex.    (See  Fig.  314.)    This  aranead 


^  Trapdoor  Spiders,  Supplement,  page  237. 


MIMICRY    IN   SPIDERS.  357 


constructs   a   tube    with   a   trapdoor   opening,    in   every   respect  resembling 
that  of  species  which  burrow  in  the  ground,  except  that  the  tube  is  placed 
upon   the   bark    of   various   trees   and    ordinarily    lodged    within 
"^^^^  the  furrows  of  the  same.     Mr.  Simon  ^  found  specimens  of  these 

rap-  upon  trees  of  Venezuela,  South  America,  and  I  have  seen  a  num- 
ber of  examples  in  the  collection  of  the  British  Museum  at  Ken- 
sington, London.  These  were  of  various  sizes,  some  of  them  with  doors 
no  larger  than  a  pin  head,  yet  perfectly  constructed  and  exact  miniatures 
of  that  made  by  the  adult.  The  utility  of  this  mimicry  is  apparent.  The 
insects  which  alight  and  walk  on  trees,  must  often  go  over  and  around 
this  trap,  which  in  appearance  and  texture  so  closely  resembles  its  site. 
Thus  opportunity  and  facility  are  afforded  the  spider,  waiting  at  its  partly 
open  door,  to  seize  its  prey. 

11. 

Among  spiders,  the  form  of  other  animals  is  sometimes  mimicked.    The 
most  striking  example  is  that  of  the   little  group  of  araneads  which,  by 
stricture  of  the  abdomen  and   shape  of  the  head,  are  made  to 
Form         resemble  the  form  of   certain  ants.     Simonella   americana   Peck- 
f  A    •        ham   is   an   example   of  this  form   mimicry.      (Fig.   315.)      One 
mals.  specimen  of  this  spider  is  recorded   as  having  been  found  run- 

ning among  leaf  cutting  ants.^  Certainly  there  is  a  sufficient 
resemblance  between  the  two  creatures  to  permit  one  to  think  that  a  spi- 
der so  formed  might  run  upon  the  ground  among  a  marching  or  working 
column  of  these  emmets  without  any  great  fear  of  detection,  provided 
the  ants  had  no  better  means  of  discovering  the  presence  of  friend  or  foe 
than  their  eyesight.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  their 
principal  means  of  observation  in  this  respect  appears  to  be  ^^rv^J--^ 

the  sensitive  antennae.     Having  closely  studied  the  habits  of    ^-^— — ^'^^-— J 
the    leaf   cutting   ants,   Atta   fervens,^    in    Texas,   I    cannot  fig.  315.  An  outline 

,  ,  .  side    view   of   Si- 

readily  think  that  any  spider,  or  any  other  creat-     moneiia  america- 
„   . ,  ure  at  all  obnoxious  to  these  ants,  whatever  might     °^j^  ^^^^^  ^^^^' 

be  its  form,  would  have  been  permitted  to  remain 
in  the  way  of  the   immense   swarms   of   insects  that  issue  in  the  evening 
from  their  formicary,  and  go  forth  upon   their  predatory  expeditions  into 
the  surrounding  foliage. 

Another  of  these  ant  formed  spiders,  which  belongs  to  our  indigenous 
fauna,  is  Synemosyna  formica  Hentz.  (Fig.  316.)  The  figure  is  drawn 
from  a  specimen  sent  me  by  Professor  Peckham,  but  the  species  is  quite 
widely  distributed  over  the  United  States,  having  been  originally  de- 
scribed  by  Hentz.     Yet  another   spider    which   certainly  bears  a   striking 

^  Ann.  Soc.  Entom.  de  France,  1889,  page  220,  plate  i..  Fig.  3. 

^  Spiders  of  the  Subfamily  Lyssomanse,  Trans.  Wisconsin  Acad.  Sci.,  1888,  page  252. 

*  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1879,  page  33. 

*  Proced.  Nat.  Hist.  Soc.  Wisconsin,  1885,  plate  i.,  Fig.  1. 


358 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


resemblance  to  hymenopterous  insects,  is  drawn  from  a  specimen  sent  me 
by  Professor  Peckham,  and  was  collected  in  South  America.  (Fig.  317.) 
I  do  not  know  the  particular  genus  to  which  this  species  be- 
longs. The  number  of  species  having  this  characteristic  form 
appears  to  be  quite  limited  in  any  given  locality,  particularly 
of  temperate  climates;  but  there  are  probably  many  more 
than  has  been  supposed,  for  Professor  Peckham  informs  me 
that  he  has  at  least  seventy-five  species  in  his  private  col- 
lection. 

According  to  Mr.  Cambridge,  the  most  striking  instance  of 
resemblance  among  British  spiders  is  that  of  Micaria  scintalans,  found  in 
some  abundance  in  the  Isle  of  Portland.  This  spider  so  nearly  resembles  a 
large  ant  which  abounds  in  the  same  locality,  that  it  requires  the 
second  look  of  even  a  practiced  eye  to  be  sure  whether  it  be  really 


Fig.  316.  An  Ant 
spider,  Syne- 
mosyna  for- 
mica Hentz. 


A  British 
Specimen 


spider  or  ant.  The  advantage,  or  "  protective  eifect,"  afforded 
to  one  thus  resembling  another  is  not  always  easy  to  be  understood  at 
once.  It  may  often  consist  in  the  protection  from  certain  dangers  to  which 
the  creature  resembled  is  either  not  liable  or  may  be  specially  guarded 
against.  Thus  the  ants  of  Portland,  being  of  a  hard  and  horny  nature, 
may  not  be  a  favorite  food  for  those  enemies  which  would  find  an  agree- 
able morsel  in  the  softer  and  more  succulent  spider.  The  latter,  therefore, 
would  deceive,  and  so  escape  such  enemies,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  dis- 
tasteful ants.  In  other  cases  (and,  possibly,  also  in  the  one  just  mentioned) 
Cambridge  thinks  the  resemblance  may  give  the  resembler  a  chance  of  ob- 
taining its  prey  more  easily.  Thus,  in  the  south  of  Africa  there  is  a  spider 
resembling  an  ant  even  more  closely  than  the  Portland  species.  The  habit 
of  this  ant  is  to  feed  on  honey  dew  along  with  mul- 
titudes of  insects  of  other  orders.  These  latter  have 
no  dread  nor  suspicion  of  the  ants,  which,  in  fact, 
have  a  common  object  in  view,  and  do  the  other  in- 
sects no  harm.  But  then,  under  cover  of  the  close 
resemblance  to  the  ants,  come  the  spiders,  who,  un- 
suspected and  unresisted,  regale  themselves  at  their 
leisure  upon  the  defenseless  insect. 

Having  recorded  the  facts,  it  may  be  well  to  con- 
sider some   of  the  theories  advanced  to  account  for 

them.    In  general,  it  may  be  said  that  this 

mimicry  is  considered  as  protective.    Its  use 

is,  first,  to  enable  the  mimic  to  more  readily 
obtain  necessary  food  among  its  natural  prey;  or,  sec- 
ond, to  protect  it  from  natural  enemies,  particularly 
(as  in  this  case  of  form  mimicry)  from  some  enemy  that  especially  threatens 
its  existence.  Darwin  applies  to  these  analogical  resemblances,  or  adapt- 
ive  resemblances,  as  he   calls   them,  his   theory  of  natural   selection.     He 


DarTvin's 
Theory. 


Fig.  317.    An  ant  like  spider 
from  South  America. 


MIMICKY    IN    SPIDERS.  359 


cordially  adopts  the  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  Bates  concerning  the  remark- 
able mimicry  between  the  genera  of  butterflies,  Ithomia  and  Leptalis,  as  they 
are  found  in  Brazil.  ^  Mr.  Bates  concludes  that  the  Leptalis  first  varies, 
and  when  that  variety  happens  to  resemble  in  some  degree  any  common 
butterfly  inhabiting  the  same  district,  this  variety,  from  its  resemblance  to 
a  flourishing  and  little  persecuted  kind,  has  a  better  chance  of  escaping 
destruction  from  predaceous  birds  and  insects,  and  is  consequently  oftener 
preserved,  the  less  perfect  degrees  of  resemblance  being  from  generation  to 
generation  eliminated,  and  only  the  others  left  to  propagate  the  kind. 

In  this  connection  Mr.  Darwin  remarks :  "  Insects  cannot  escape  by 
flight  from  the  larger  animals,  hence  they  are  reduced,  like  most  weak 
creatures,  to  trickery  and  dissimulation.'"-^  In  what  sense  can  it  be  true 
that  a  resemblance  in  form,  which  must  be  the  result  of  influences  oper- 
ating upon  the  very  germ  of  life,  acquired  by  and  transmitted  from  an- 
cestors, is  traceable  to  the  volition  of  the  creature,  and  is  an  act  of  delib- 
erate "dissimulation  and  trickery"?  Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin 
of  adaptive  resemblances,  certainly  at  the  outset  we  may  exclude  any  such 
supposition  'as  this.  In  the  nature  of  things  the  cause  of  structural  re- 
semblance is  beyond  the  individual  control  of  the  mocking  or  mimicking 
species. 

The  most  striking  example  of  the  mimicry  of  animal  forms  among 
spiders,  as  has  been  said,  is  that  of  Ant  spiders,  of  which  Simonella  ameri- 
cana  is  an  example.  The  theory  which  accounts  for  this  on  the 
^  ®  hypothesis  of  natural  selection  supposes  that,  through  the  nat- 
ural tendency  to  vary,  a  spider  in  a  brood  acquired  a  slight  re- 
semblance to  an  ant.  This  slight  resemblance  protected  the  spiderling  so 
much  as  to  give  it  an  advantage  over  its  fellows  during  the  attacks  of 
birds  that  feed  upon  spiders,  but  do  not  feed  upon  ants.  This  protected 
individual,  having  matured,  transmitted  its  peculiarity  to  offspring,  some 
of  whom,  by  the  same  tendency  to  variation,  exaggerated  the  ant  likeness ; 
and  so,  by  infinitesimal  increments,  in  the  course  of  time  Simonella  amer- 
icana  and  other  species  more  or  less  closely  resembling  ants  were  produced. 

Concerning  this  theory  it  may  be  remarked,  first,  that  the  real  difficulty 
seems  to  be  in  the  supposition  that  such  a  slight  variation  as  is  supposed 
could  possibly  be  of  any  advantage  to  an  individual  spiderling 
Value  of  jjj  ^j^g  midst  of  a  large  brood.  The  dangers  to  which  these  are 
^  .  , .  exposed  are  not  chiefly  from  birds.  They  are  very  small,  soft 
bodied  creatures,  exposed  to  many  perils.  As  soon  as  they  set 
up  housekeeping,  and  even  before  it,  they  are  preyed  upon  by  their  own 
order,  for  large  spiders  unceremoniously  eat  little  ones,  and  small  spiders 
eat  less  ones.      Among   Wanderers   like   Simonella   and   other  Attidae,   the 


^  Bates,  "  Naturalist  on  the  Amazou." 

2  "  Origin  of  Species,"  Chapter  XIII.,  page  386. 


360  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

young  stay  with  the  mother  until  they  are  somewhat  grown,  and  then 
have  shelter  beneath  rocks  or  other  secluded  positions  where  birds  are  not 
apt  to  find  them,  although,  of  course,  some  birds  do  mouse  around  and 
pick  up  insects  in  the  most  secluded  spots.  I  imagine,  however,  that  the 
dangers  threatening  young  Attida3  are  much  greater  from  certain  insects 
and  individuals  of  their  own  order,  than  from  birds.  I  can,  therefore, 
hardly  conceive  what  advantage  it  would  be  under  such  circumstances  for 
the  spider  to  resemble  an  ant,  even  if  we  were  to  suppose  that  such  a 
minute  resemblance  as  the  hypothesis  requires  at  the  outset,  would  be  of 
advantage  in  any  case.  In  point  of  fact,  the  theory  is  not  workable,  as  it 
seems  to  me.  Any  change  of  form  to  be  effective  must  occur  in  the  first 
stages  of  life.  But  a  minute  resemblance  could  be  of  no  advantage,  as  the 
discriminating  powers  of  enemies,  whether  insects,  birds,  or  spiders,  are 
hardly  so  acute  and  delicate  as  to  make  an  infinitesimal  variation  of 
much  importance  in  screening  one  individual  spiderling  in  the  midst  of 
a  brood.  In  short,  if  we  are  to  suppose  that  the  birds  are  the  real  ene- 
mies, or  any  other  creature  that  is  indisposed  to  feed  upon  ants,  it  seems 
necessary,  in  order  to  justify  anything  like  this  theory  of  the  origin  of 
mimicry,  to  suppose  that  the  variation  of  the  spiderling  was,  at  the  outset, 
so  great  as  to  give  it  at  least  a  reasonable  likeness  to  the  ant. 

The  theory  takes  for  granted  an  accuracy  of  eyesight  on  the  part  of 
birds  that  close  observers  will  scarcely  be  willing  to  admit.     How  far  can 

birds  distinguish  color?  This  is  a  question  which  has  scarcely 
_.^,    °      yet  been  fully  solved.      How  far   can   insects   distinguish   color? 

How  far  can  birds  and  insects  distinguish  between  such  minute 
variations  in  form  as  that  which  the  above  theory  seems  to  require?  In 
accounting  for  the  origin  of  cocoon  mimicry  we  suppose  that  the  eyesight 
of  birds  and  wasps  is  so  defective  as  to  form  and  color  as  to  permit  them 
to  be  deceived  by  a  difference  as  little  marked  as  that  which  exists  between 
the  cocoon  of  the  Tailed  spider,  for  example,  and  the  spider  herself.  But, 
in  accounting  for  the  mimicry  of  ant  like  forms,  we  are  compelled  to  re- 
verse this  attitude,  and  suppose  the  eyesight  of  birds  and  raiding  wasps 
to  be  so  accurate  that  it  can  distinguish  between  a  slight  variation  on  the 
part  of  one  spider  of  a  brood  towards  an  ant,  and  the  normal  form  of 
other  spiders  of  the  brood,  and  distinguish  so  accurately  that  it  will 
avoid  the  ant  resembling  spiderling  and-  take  others.  Whatever  theory 
of  the  origin  of  mimicry  we  adopt,  certainly  must  be  free  from  inconsist- 
encies such  as  this. 

Moreover,  the  greatest  destruction,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  wrought  by 
birds  upon  young  spiders  is  accomplished  under  circumstances  that  pre- 
clude any  such  an  element  as  above.  Immense  numbers  of  spiderlings, 
including,  I  believe,  all  species  of  Saltigrades,  possess  the  aeronautic  habit, 
and  while  they  are  flying  through  the  air  upon  their  tiny  mimic  balloons 
they  are  devoured   by  swifts  and  swallows,  who  skim  the  air  and  gather 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  361 


these  flying  spiders  into  their  crops,  where  they  have  been  found  in  quan- 
tities.    Certainly,  a  resemblance  of  an  ant  form  could  be  of  no  avail  here. 

Again,  the  theory  compels  us  to  assert  that  ants  are  not  subject  to  de- 
struction by  birds.  Of  course,  unless  this  be  true  we  can  conceive  of  no 
advantage  in  the  mimicry  of  an  ant  form  as  protecting  the  spi- 
^^  ^  der  against  birds  that  seek  to  devour  it.  Its  safety  lies  in  the 
fact  that  it  is  covered  from  harm  by  its  likeness  to  an  insect 
which  birds  avoid.  On  the  contrary,  I  know  that  some  birds  certainly 
do  eat  ants,  and  eat  them  greedily. 

Mr.  Carl  Voelker,  of  Carlingdale,  Delaware  County,  Pennsylvania,  is  a 
taxidermist  of  large  practical  experience,  and  with  a  fondness  for  natural 
history  which  prompts  him  to  make  and  note  observations  upon  the  gen- 
eral habits  of  birds  and  other  animals.  He  has  informed  me  that  the 
flicker,  Picus  auratus,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year — in  the  spring,  for 
example — will  station  itself  upon  a  dead  stump,  which  in  our  American 
woods  is  frequently  infested  with  ants,  and  feed  greedily  upon  them  as 
they  pass  to  and  fro.  This  he  has  observed  many  times,  and  believes 
that  at  certain  seasons  this  bird  lives  entirely  upon  ants.  He  has  seen 
two  species  devoured  by  them  in  the  manner  above  described — a  little 
black  ant  and  one  about  twice  as  large. 

The  pileated  woodpecker,  Picus  pileatus,  feeds  quite  habitually  upon 
the  large  black  Pennsylvania  carpenter  ant,  Camponotus  pennsylvanicus. 
He  has  frequently  taken  these  insects,  in  various  stages  of  decomposition, 
out  of  the  crops  of  these  birds,  at  one  time  having  counted  nearly  seven 
hundred  in  the  crop  of  a  single  woodpecker.  The  bird  not  only  takes 
the  ants  in  the  summer,  but  also  in  the  winter,  and  Mr,  Voelker  has  seen 
them  stationed  upon  trees,  pecking  at  the  gangways  or  gates  into  the  for- 
micaries until  they  had  been  hammered  open,  and  then  extracting  the 
ants  while  they  were  in  a  torpid  state.  As  some  of  these  homes  in  forest 
trees  are  extensive  bits  of  architecture  and  are  inhabited  by  vast  numbers 
of  insects,  the  amount  of  food  thus  obtained  must  be  considerable.  In  the 
forests  of  Pennsylvania  I  have  seen  formicaries  of  the  carpenter  ant  six 
feet  in  length  and  occupying  the  entire  central  part  of  a  goodly  sized 
tree  or  branch. 

The  European  woodpecker,  Picus  ater,  according  to  the  same  gentle- 
man, who  has  observed  the  same  species  in  Germany,  subsists 
"^^^  entirely  upon  ants,  and  the  same  fact  is  true  of  another  Euro- 

°^  "  pean  species,  Picus  virens,  popularly  known  as  the  Grass  Wood- 
pecker. Mr.  Voelker  has  seen  this  bird  on  the  hills  of  Germany 
digging  into  the  soil,  and  feeding  eagerly,  not  only  upon  the  larvae,  but 
upon  the  ants  themselves. 

It  is  generally  known  that  the  ordinary  barnyard  fowl  will  devour  ants 
without  hesitation.  Mr.  Voelker  states  that  once  he  was  engaged  in  the 
woodyard  of  his  country  residence  in  breaking  up  a  log  of  decayed  wood 


362  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

which  had  served  as  a  formicary  for  a  large  colony  of  ants.  The  insects 
with  their  larvae  and  pupae  were  scattered  over  the  ground,  and  the  chick- 
ens, getting  scent  of  the  game,  flocked  one  after  another  from  the  barn- 
yard in  such  numbers  and  with  such  greedy  persistence  that  he  had  to 
cease  his  labors  out  of  regard  to  the  safety  of  his  fowl.  The  chickens  de- 
voured the  larvse  and  pupae  and  the  ants. 

The  same  gentleman  says  that  he  has  found  particles  of  ants  in  the 
stomachs  of  grouse,  although  it  is  possible  that  they  may  have  picked  up 
the  ants  while  feeding  upon  the  larvse,  which  latter  may  have  been  the 
chief  object  of  desire.  The  various  song  birds  of  America,  as  the  mocking- 
bird, catbird,  thrushes,  etc.,  eat  the  larvae  of  ants,  as  is  well  known,  but 
Mr.  Voelker  had  never  discovered  particles  of  the  ants  themselves  in  their 
crops. 

Mr.    T.    B.    A.    Cockerell  ^    notes   that   Dr.    Riley   records   that   sparrows 

(Passer  domesticus)  feed  on  certain  Aculeta,  Halictus,  Typhia,  Myzine,  and 

ants.     Mr.  Cockerell  himself  had  found   ants   in  the  stomach   of 
Other 
_.   ,  Sialia   arctica  shot  in    Custer   County,  California.     The  stomach 

of  a  woodpecker  shot  by  Rev.  A.  Wright  in  the  same  locality 
contained  a  number  of  ants,  the  majority  apparently  Formica  fusca,  with 
a  few  of  Formica  Integra. 

I  can  certify  by  my  personal  observations,  as  well  as  by  reports  of 
others,  that  some  of  the  native  birds  of  Fairmount  Park  (Philadelphia) 
feed  upon  colonies  of  Formica  Integra,  which  are  found  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Rockland  on  the  Schuylkill  River  and  elsewhere.  It  is  well  known 
that  birds  of  all  kinds  are  fond  of  "  ant  eggs,"  by  which  popular  name  is 
meant  the  pupae  of  those  ants  whose  larvae  enclose  themselves  within  a 
cocoon.  These  ant  pupae  are  gathered  in  immense  quantities  from  the 
mounds  of  Formica  exsecta,  F.  fusca,  F.  rufa  in  various  parts  of  Europe, 
and  are  regularly  sold  in  the  markets  as  food  for  pet  birds.  These  eggs, 
if  nothing  else,  would  invite  the  attack  of  birds  upon  ant  hills,  and  would 
thus  lead  directly  to  devouring  the  ants  themselves,  who  invariably  rally 
to  defend  their  nurslings. 

Certain  game  birds  are  extremely  fond  of  ants.  In  the  summer  of  1887, 
while  visiting  Mr.  E.  C.  Cornwallis  at  Linton  Park,  Kent,  England,  I  was 
taken  by  my  host  to  the  gamekeeper's  lodge,  on  the  grounds  of 
ijnglish  which  several  hundred,  perhaps  a  thousand  or  more,  young  par- 
Birds  tridges  were  being  raised  for  the  purpose  of  stocking  the  shoot- 
ing park.  These  little  fellows  had  been  hatched  out  under  barn- 
yard fowl,  and  were,  when  I  saw  them,  turned  loose  upon  a  bit  of  sloping 
ground  that  was  literally  honeycombed  with  the  nests  of  a  small  species  of 
ant,  apparently  a  Lasius.  The  whole  slope  had  been  torn  up  in  order  to 
procure  these  nests  as  food  for  the  young  partridges.     Mr.  Cornwallis  gave 

^  Entomological  News,  Philadelphia,  May,  1890,  page  65. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  363 


a  peculiar  whistle,  which  was  at  once  recognized  by  the  flock  of  chickens, 
who  hurried  together  at  the  call,  as  tame  birds  always  do  when  summoned 
to  feed.  The  gamekeeper  tossed  them  several  bits  of  sod  containing  ant 
nests,  which  the  birds  attacked,  tore  in  pieces,  and  in  a  moment  had  de- 
voured all  the  insect  contents.  Simonella  americana  is  not  much  larger 
than  these  ants,  and  certainly  there  would  be  little  protection  from  such 
voracious  creatures  as  these  in  the  mimicry  of  ant  forms.  I  have  no  doubt, 
although  I  cannot  speak  positively,  that  our  American  quail  are  equally  as 
fond  of  ants  as  these  English  partridges;  and  as  they  are  ground  birds, 
their  habits  of  feeding  would  make  them  destructive  enemies  of  all  ant  spe- 
cies burrowing  in  the  earth. 

Again,  it  is  well  known  that  in  the  warm  districts  of  South  America, 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  earth,  there  is  a  family  of  birds  who  are  such 
persistent  destroyers  of  ants  that  they  take  their  family  name 
tv:j..l-j  from  this  habit,  and  are  known  as  the  Formicariida;.  ^  These 
ant  thrushes,  Pittas  or  Pittidaj,  are  also  an  Old  World  group, 
being  found  in  the  Malay  Islands.  The  Great  ant  thrush,  which  is  also 
called  the  Giant  Pitta,  is  a  native  of  Surinam,  and  is  a  bird  about  the  size 
of  the  English  rook.^ 

I  have  heard,  although  I  cannot  now  cite  the  authority,  that  in  Africa, 
when  the  Driver  ants  go  out  upon  their  excursions,  during  which  they  will 
prey  upon  all  sorts  of  insects  and  small  vertebrate  animals,  ant  thrushes, 
or  some  species  of  ant  devouring  bird,  hover  over  the  raiding  column, 
upon  which  they  make  their  assaults,  devouring  immense  numbers  of  the 
drivers.^  Such  are  some  of  the  facts  which  have  fallen  to  my  notice,  or 
under  my  eye;  and  while  it  is  probably  true  that  some  birds  avoid  ants 
as  articles  of  food,  I  imagine  that  nearly  all  animal  feeding  birds  will  pick 
them  up  whenever  they  have  an  opportunity.  Such  being  the  case,  we  can 
hardly  admit  the  force  of  an  argument  which  is  based  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  form  of  an  ant  would  protect  a  spider,  or  any  other  creature, 
on  account  of  the  disrelish  of  birds  for  ants. 

If  we  were  inclined  to  accept  the  theory  of  natural  selection,  as  above 
outlined,  as  an  origin  for  mimicry  of  ant  forms,  it  would  seem  to  me  more 
rational  to  suppose  that  the  particular  enemy  against  which  the 
•^^*  mocking  form   is   protected,  is  not  the   bird,  but  the   wasp   and 

^.  ichneumon  fly.      My   chapter   on  the  Enemies  of  Spiders  shows 

icked?       what  depredation  is  wrought  among  araneads  by  various  mem- 
bers of  the  wasp  family.     As  far  as  I  know,  wasps  do  not  inter- 
fere with  each  other,  or  with  ants,  who  closely  resemble  them,  being,  in 
fact,  members  of  the  same  order  of  Hymenoptera.     Anything  that  would 

^  Alfred  Wallace,  "  Geographical  Distribution  of  Animals,  Vol.  II.,  page  296 ;  Wright, 
"Animal  Life,"  page  271.  ^  "Wood's  Natural  History,"  page  341. 

3  I  think  that  this,  or  a  similar  fact,  was  told  me  by  an  African  missionary  to  the  Congo 
region. 


364  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

\ 

be  likely  to  deceive  these  inveterate  spider  enemies  would  undoubtedly  be 
a  protection  to  spiders  of  all  tribes. 

But  then,  with  such  a  theory  in  mind,  we  are  met  at  once  by  the  fact 
that  those  spiders  which  are  most  frequently  found  within  the  clay  cells 
of  mud  'dauber  wasps,  and  those  which  these  insects  most  frequently  col- 
lect as  food  for  their  larvae,  are  the  Sedentary  groups  suth  as  Orbweavers 
and  Lineweavers.  They  do  indeed  take  the  Thomisoids,  especially  those 
that  lurk  on  flowers  in  pursuit  of  prey,  and  which,  in  turn,  sometimes 
capture  the  wasps.  The  Saltigrades  are  also  taken;  but  if  I  may  judge 
from  mj'^  own  observations,  they  are  least  numerously  represented  of  all 
the  tribes  except  perhaps  the  Lycosids  and  the  Tunnelweavers.  This  seem- 
ing immunity  is  evidently  not  due  to  any  likeness  of  Attidae  in  general 
features  to  wasps,  but  simply  to  their  manner  of  life,  which,  in  large  meas- 
ure, screens  them  from  assault,  and  enables  them  to  escape.  Now,  the 
question  must  rise  in  considering  such  a  theory,  why  does  not  natural 
selection  operate  for  the  protection  of  those  spiders  which  obviously  need 
protection  the  most  ? 

Is  it  not  remarkable  that  during  all  the  ages  in  which  the  forms  of 
Orbweavers  have  remained  substantially  unchanged,  as  well  as  the  forms 
of  wasps,  and  during  which  period  the  habits  of  both  creatures  must  have 
been  the  same.  Nature  has  refused  to  work  in  the  direction  of  protecting 
the  exposed  Orbweavers  by  providing  them  some  analogical  resemblance 
such  as  that  which  we  remark  in  the  case  of  Simonella  americana  ?  It 
seems  to  me  illogical  to  expect  a  general  law  to  account  for  the  origin  of 
certain  peculiarities  in  Nature,  and  yet  to  exclude  this  general  law  or  force 
from  operation  within  the  whole  field  of  life  with  the  exception  of  one 
very  small  section.  It  seems  further  illogical  to  hold  that  this  general 
law  would  have  failed  to  operate  not  only  in  the  cases  where  it  seems  to 
be  most  necessary,  but  in  those  wherein  all  the  circumstances  are  best  ar- 
ranged for  its  most  effective  operation. 

While  spiders  thus  abundantly  prey  upon  ants,  sometimes  the  condi- 
tions are  reversed,  for  when  the  opportunity  presents,  the  ants  will  feed 
upon  spiders.  In  certain  cases  this  takes  the  shape  of  a  system- 
Q  . ,  atic  raiding  of  the  whole   section,  as,  for   example,  according   to 

Mr.  Cambridge,  the  large  red  ant  of  the  woods,  Formica  rufa, 
destroys  spiders  so  completely,  that  in  localities  thickly  inhabited  by  those 
insects,  he  had  generally  found  it  almost  useless  to  search  for  spiders.^ 

Whether  or  not  any  ant  like  species  are  found  among  Sedentary  tribes 
I  do  not  know.  But  it  entirely  passes  my  imagination  to  conceive  what 
possible  advantage  could  accrue  to  an  Orbweaver,  for  example,  from  resem- 
blance to  an  ant.  Orbweavers,  and  yet  more  frequently  Lineweavers,  prey 
upon  ants ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  that  there  should  be  any  resemblance  to 


^  Spiders  of  Dorset,  Vol.  I.,  page  xxxi. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  365 


the  emmet  in  order  to  accomplish  the  destruction  of  vast  numbers  of  them, 
as  I  can  fully  testify.  As  the  Orbweavers  and  Lineweavers  do  not  leave 
their  snares  to  capture  prey  and  move  among  the  ants  after  the  fashion 
of  the  prowling  Saltigrades  that  do  mimic  ant  forms,  the  fact  of  ant  re- 
semblance, should  it  exist  among  them,  must  have  a  quite  different  solu- 
tion. One  could  suggest,  in  their  case,' a  protective  value  in  resemblance 
to  wasps,  but  none  at  all  as  against  ants. 

III. 

Another  style  of  mimicry  among  spiders  is  resemblance  to  forms  of 
objects  among  which  they  live,  as  with  Tetragnatha  extensa.  This  aranead 
has  a  long  and  narrow  body,  of  a  cylindrical  shape,  not  unlike 
Local,  or  g^  small  twig  in  appearance.  Its  colors  are  delicate  green,  yellow, 
„  „  .  and  gray,  thus  increasing  its  resemblance  to  the  plant.  But  the 
ronment,  ™ost  striking  feature  of  the  mimicry  is  the  habit  of  drawing  to- 
gether the  four  hind  legs  until  the  joints  closely  approximate 
each  other,  stretching  them  straight  backward,  and  treating  the  two  pairs 
of  fore  legs  in  the  same  way,  stretching  them  out  forward.  (Plate  III., 
Fig.  6.)  Thus  the  spider  is  extended  along  the  stem  of  the  plant  in  a 
straight  line,  so  that  her  body  closely  resembles  the  object  upon  which  she 
lies.  The  habit  prevails  in  all  known  species  of  the  genus.  In  this  case, 
although  we  concede  that  Tetragnatha  has  had  no  control  over  her  own 
particular  form  and  ^its  resemblance  to  a  small  twig,  we  must  allow  that 
her  action  is  a  matter  of  personal  volition,  and  appears  to  be  exercised 
with  deliberate  purpose  to  conceal  her  presence.  Yet,  the  behavior  of  the 
spider  frequently  compels  one  to  wonder  how  the  supposition  of  mimicry 
can  be  harmonized  therewith. 

For  example,  the  Peckhams  record  that  a  male  Tetragnatha  grallator,i 
when  touched  as  he  hung  in  the  web,  ran  to  a  branch,  whereon  he  stretched 
himself.  In  this  position  he  was  almost  indistinguishable,  as  his 
^J[^^  color  was  exactly  like  that  of  the  branch  to  which  he  clung. 
The  branch  was  gently  shaken,  but  instead  of  keeping  quiet  he 
ran  a  little  way  and  then  stretched  out  again.  This  he  repeated,  stupidly 
betraying  himself  as  often  as  the  branch  was  touched.  ^  One  would  think 
that  Nature,  having  taken  pains  to  produce  such  a  striking  protective 
mimicry,  would  not  have  failed  to  make  it  useful  by  imparting  a  corre- 
sponding instinct  that  would  adapt  behavior  to  opportunities. 

A  Laterigrade  spider,  Tibellus,  which  has  at  least  one  quite  common 
representative  in  the  United  States,  has  a  habit  not  very  different  from 
Tetragnatha.  Tibellus  oblongus  is  abundant  in  many  marshy  places  in 
the  south  of  England.  It  has  an  elongated  oval  body,  with  longish  legs, 
and  is  of  a  uniform  dull  yellowish  hue;  it  is  an  exceedingly  active  spider, 

^  T.  elongata  Walck.  ^  Mental  Powers,  page  411. 


366  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

and,  when  running  in  autumn  among  the  dull  yellowish,  decaying  grass 
and  rushes,  looks  much  larger  than  it  really  is.  All  of  a  sudden  one  loses 
sight  of  it,  and  unless  he  is  aware  of  its  habits,  is  puzzled  to  know  what 
can  have  become  of  it ;  but  there  it  is  close  by,  stretched  out  at  full  length 
along  the  similarly  colored  stem  of  grass  or  rush,  with  its  first  and  second 
pairs  of  legs  put  forward  in  a  straight  line,  and  its  third  and  fourth  pairs 
stretched  in  the  same  way  backwards,  so  as  to  be  scarcely  distinguishable 
from  the  stem  itself.  ^ 

In  the  case  of  Tetragnatha  the  mimicry  of  the  twig  on  which  she  lies 
appears  at  first  sight  very  striking.  I  have  no  disposition  to  undervalue 
the  character  or  protective  benefit  of  this  mimicry.  But  it  must 
^a  ura  ^^  remarked  that,  in  point  of  fact,  she  simply  'assumes  the  posi- 
tion which,  she  habitually  takes  when  hanging  on  her  web.  Both 
this  genus  and  Uloborus  stretch  themselves  out  upon  the  central  part 
of  their  orb,  or  upon  a  string  suspended  from  it,  with  their  feet  ap- 
proximated in  precisely  the  attitude  above  described  as  taken  by  them 
when  they  stretch  along  the  under  part  of  a  branch.  We  are  therefore 
compelled  to  inquire  how  far  this  attitude  of  Tetragnatha  may  be  a  de- 
liberate attempt  to  shield  herself,  and  how  far  it  is  the  natural  result  of 
habit  prompting  her,  when  attempting  to  screen  herself,  to  drop  into  the 
form  natural  because  most  common  to  her.  The  value  of  the  form  need 
not  be  questioned,  but  in  considering  its  origin  we  are  required  to  con- 
sider the  habitual  attitude  of  the  spider  upon  her  web  as  well  as  the  atti- 
tude of  mimicry  upon  a  twig  during  her  occasional  excursions.  Some 
other  spiders  have  the  habit  of  stretching  themselves  like  Tetragnatha 
upon  foliage  and  twigs,  as,  for  example,  the  Orchard  spider,  although  not 
to  the  same  extent  as  Tetragnatha.     (Plate  III.,  Fig.  6,  above.) 

The  ordinary,  or  at  least  the  common,  position  of  Epeiroids,  when  rest- 
ing outside  their  nests  or  snares,  is  to  draw  up  the  legs  so  that  the  two 
front  pairs  are  humped  up  above  the  head  and  are  nearly  in  a 
.  j^  '-  plane  with  each  other  and  the  spider's  face.  The  hind  legs  are 
drawn  up  against  the  abdomen.  The  spider  thus  forms  a  little 
roundish  bunch  and  as  thus  seen  is  not  unlike  one  of  the  knots,  warts, 
or  excrescences  frequently  seen  upon  plants.  This  habit  universally  pre- 
vails among  spiders,  and  one  who  follows  their  actions  for  a  little  while 
will  be  certain  to  observe  it.  Thus  they  remain  perfectly  still,  and  at  a 
casual  glance  might  be  taken  for  a  knot  or  other  excrescence  upon  the 
bark  of  a  tree  or  plant,  as  in  the  case  of  Epeira  strix,  .represented  Plate 
III.,  Fig.  4. 

The  mimicry  of  a  wart,  knot,  or  bud,  or  other  natural  irregularity, 
would  seem  to  be  quite  as  useful  as  the  special  mimicry  of  Tetragnatha, 
since  it  would   be  as  likely  to  deceive   the   eye  of  a  prowling  enemy.     In 


^  Cambridge,  Spiders  of  Dorset. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  367 


this  bunching  habit  spiders,  Orbweavers  at  least,  follow  the  influence  of 
habit,  for  when  at  rest  within  their  nests  they  almost  invariably  draw 
themselves  up  in  the  manner  described.  However,  the  position  is  contrary 
to  that  generally  assumed  by  spiders  making  vertical  orbs  when  hanging 
in  wait  for  prey  upon  the  orb.  Then  the  legs  are  strctclied  backward  and 
forward,  not,  indeed,  in  a  straight  line  like  Tetragnatha  and  Uloborus,  but 
somewhat  in  the  position  of  a  St.  Andrew's  cross  or  the  letter  "  x,"  as 
heretofore  described. 

IV. 

Color  mimicry  in  spiders  is  supposed,  first,  to  facilitate  taking  prey,  thus 

promoting  the  life  of  the  species,  and,  second,  to  protect   the   mimic  from 

assaults   of  enemies,  who  are   deceived   by  the  close  resemblance 

„.    .  either  to   surrounding   obiects   or   to   some  animal    obnoxious   to 

Adimicrv 

the  assailant.     An  interesting   example   of   color   mimicry  is   the 

common  spider  Misumena  vatia.  This  spider  is  generally  yellow,  mottled 
upon  the  abdomen,  and  with  darker  rings  on  the  legs.  It  will  often 
be  found  spread  out  upon  the  yellow  heart  of  an  ox-eyed  daisy,  or  in  like 
position  upon  Coreopsis  (Plate  III.,  Fig.  1)  or  golden  rod.  Here  it  re- 
mains and  preys  on  insects  frequenting  the  plant.  It  certainly  closely  re- 
sembles the  flower  upon  which  it  is  ambushed,  and  the  ordinary  observer 
might  well  fail  to  notice  its  presence.  On  one  occasion  I  found  this  spe- 
cies concealed  underneath  one  of  the  outer  petals  of  a  half  opened  rose, 
and,  curiously,  it  had  its  prevailing  yellow  greatly  modified  by  a  pinkish 
cast  of  color,  more  closely  resembling  the  rose  upon  which  it  was  lodged. 
(Plate  III.,  Fig.  2.) 

Mrs,  Treat  gives  an  account  of  a  Laterigrade  that  appears  to  be  Misu- 
mena  vatia,  whose  lurking   place  was   in    the    heart  of  roses,  and   was  so 
nearly  the  same  shade  of   color  as   the  flower  as   to  make  it  dif- 

isume-    f^Q^^^  ^Q   ggg  jjgj.      When   the  rose  began   to  wither  she  took   up 

na  vatia.  ^ 

position  on  a  fresh  one.     The  spider  was   first  observed  in  July, 

and  remained  on  the  same  bush  about  three  weeks,  and  then  moved  to  a 
bright  red  tea  rose,  whose  stamens  were  more  conspicuous  and  numerous 
than  the  other,  and  which  was  visited  by  a  greater  number  of  insects. 
Misumena  went  to  the  centre  of  one  of  the  flowers,  but  the  stamens  were 
of  a  deeper  yellow  than  her  body,  and  the  surrounding  petals  made  her 
easy  to  be  seen.  She  seemed  to  know  this  as  well  as  the  looker  on,  and, 
although  more  game  visited  these  roses,  she  did  not  stay  long.  The  ob- 
server thought  the  spider  conscious  that  her  safety  depended  upon  the  re- 
semblance, and  therefore  returned  to  her  old  home  among  the  petals  of 
the  light  colored  rose. 

She  made  no  web  to  entrap  prey,  but  depended  wholly  upon  strategy 
and  muscular  strength.  When  waiting  for  prey  she  cuddled  down  in  the 
centre  of  the  flower,  and  erected   her  long  fore  legs  in  such   position  that 


368  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


it  was  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  them  from  the  imperfect  scattering 
stamens.  If  a  wasp  or  humble  bee  alighted  near  her,  she  dropped  her 
stamen  like  legs  and  crouched  down  and  concealed  herself  as  much  as 
possible;  but  when  these  formidable  insects  departed,  she  resumed  her  ex- 
pectant attitude. 

Now  a  pretty  butterfly  comes  flitting  down,  all  unconscious  of  danger. 

Misumena    is    perfectly   motionless,   but    at    the    proper    moment 

Captur-     sjjQQ^g  QQ^  i^er  legs  and  grasps  the  insect  in  fatal  embrace.     The 

sects  butterfly   is   often   four   or   five   times    her    own   weight,  yet  she 

manages  to  prevent  her  victim  from  mounting  with  her  into  the 

air,  probably  by  holding  firmly  with  her  hind  legs  to  the  flowers.^ 

The  remains  of  night  flying  moths  were  often  observed  scattered  near 
this  individual,  which  had  evidently  been  captured  during  the  night,  but 
her  most  frequent  game  was  dipterous.  The  fact,  however,  that  she  does 
prey  so  frequently  upon  night  flying  insects  is  a  good  indication  that  she 
is  able  to  acquire  all  the  food  needed  without  the  aid  of  mimic  colors. 

I  quote  another  popular  account  of  the  habits  of  a  spider  which  I  take 
to  be  the  same  species.  The  description  is  from  the  pen  of  an  intelligent 
observer,  but  not  a  naturalist,  who  simply  records,  with  great  astonish- 
ment, a  first  experience  of  a  hitherto  unknown  fact,  and  therefore  without 
any  predisposition  to  see  a  case  of  mimicry  in  a  casual  resemblance.  The 
account  is  taken  from  a  description  of  a  walk  in  the  vicinity  of  Media  (a 
few  miles  from  Philadelphia),  and  was  published  in  a  Friends'  educational 
journal.^ 

"  In  Bare  Hill  meadow  was  a  garden  of  flowers  such  as  no  man  ever 

planted  or  ever  shall.     Asters,  Golden  rods,  and  Compositse  generally,  were 

massed   in    such    profusion   that   the   meadow   was    like   Joseph's 

.^.. ,  coat,  of  many  colors  and  bright  ones.  In  some  places  the  herb- 
Flowers.  ^S^  was  higher  than  our  heads,  and  passage  through  it  was 
difficult.  Over  all  towered  the  spires  of  the  purple  Boneset  or 
Queen-of-the-meadow,  so  beautiful  and  graceful  when  seen  thus,  so  coarse 
and  clumsy  when  examined  closely.  On  a  head  of  this  species,  and  among 
its  purple  flowers,  we  noticed  a  little  purple  spider  with  oval  body  and 
peculiar  markings.  So  closely  was  the  color  of  the  spider  adapted  to  that 
of  his  dwelling  that  we  should  have  overlooked  him  entirely  if  he  had 
not  moved. 

"  Shortly  we  found  on  the  white  panicle  of  the  Boneset  proper  a  spider 
similar  in  size,  shape,  and  markings,  but  pure  white  in  color.  We  then 
examined  the  Golden  rods  and  found  a  third  similar  spider  thereon  of  a 
yellow  color.  A  close  examination  of  our  flower  garden  revealed  a  number 
of  these  variously  colored  insects,  each  simulating   the  color  of  its  habitat. 

'  Mrs.  Mary  Treat,  "My  Garden  Pets,"  page  13. 

^  "The  Student,"  Philadelphia,  Fourth  Month,  1889,  page  335.  "The  Banks  of  Crum," 
L.  Chalkley  Palmer. 


PLATE  V, 


SOME    HYMENOPTEROUS    ENEMIES   OF    SPIDERS. 


1,    EURYPELMA    HENTZII.        2,    PePSIS    FORMOSA.  3,    ELIS    4-NOTATA.         4,    PeZOMACHUS    MEABILIS. 

5,    PEZOMACHUS    DIMIDIATUS.  6,    PEZOMACHUS    GRACILIS.  7,    CHALYBION    C-€RULEUM 

8,   Trypoxylon    POLITUM. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  369 


It  would  be  strange  if  all  these  were  one  species,  differently  colored  accord- 
ing to  the  place  they  dwell  in,  and  having  power  to  change  from  purple 
or  white  to  yellow  at  will ;  yet  this  seemed  probable  to  us.  Or  was  it 
that  a  species  had  developed  these  different  varieties,  each  adapted  to  live 
on  a  certain  plant?  However  this  may  be,  the  arrangement  evidently 
resulted  in  a  twofold  advantage,  in  that  it  enabled,  the  spiders  to  escape 
the  peering  eyes  of  birds,  and  at  the  same  time  to  lie  in  wait  unperceived 
for  the  insects  of  various  sorts  that  frequent  such  flowers  in  great  num- 
bers. In  no  case,  it  may  be  added,  did  we  see  a  purple  spider  on  a  yellow 
flower,  or  vice  versa," 

Mr.  Cambridge  has  observed  and  recorded  like  facts  of  Misumena  vatia 
in  England.^  He  says:  "I  find  this  spider  very  commonly  in  the  blooms 
of  the  great  mullein,  Verbascum  thapsus,  to  which  the  pale  yel- 
_,  ,.  ,  lowish  hues  of  the  spider  are  well  suited  for  its  concealment  in 
Species.  ^^^  yellow  blossoms.  An  allied  spider,  Thomisus  onustus,  found 
on  the  heather  blooms,  and  upon  some  other  pink  flowers,  is 
beautifully  tinted  with  pink,  chiefly  in  its  younger  and  feebler  stages. 
The  Rev.  C.  W.  Penny  (of  Wellington  College,  Wokingham)  tells  me  that 
he  has  found  examples  of  this  spider  on  yellowish  blossoms,  and  that 
these  examples  are  generally  of  a  yellowish  hue,  quite  devoid  of  the  pink 
color  of  those  found  on  pink  blooms.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this 
is  not  invariable,  inasmuch  as  I  have  found  here  the  more  mature  exam- 
ples, which  are  generally  devoid  of  pink  coloring,  also  on  the  pink  heather 
blooms.  The  protective  resemblance  of  color  would  not  be  so  necessary, 
in  the  above  instance,  for  the  protection  of  the  more  mature  as  for  that 
of  the  younger  spiders,  and  therefore  we  might  expect  to  find  the  former 
on  flowers  of  any  color  growing  where  the  spiders  are  found ;  while  I  have 
certainly  only  met  with  the  younger  pink  colored  spiders  on  the  pink 
heather  blossoms."  It  is  important  to  note  the  above  exception  as  to 
adult  forms. 

Most  other  Laterigrade  spiders  known  to  me  are  of  a  dull  gray  or 
brownish  color.  As  they  are  frequently  found  resting  upon  the  bark  of 
trees,  over  which  they  prowd  seeking  their  natural  prey,  their  resemblance 
to  the  color  of  the  bark  is  quite  striking,  and  might  serve  to  protect  them 
alike  from  the  observation  of  enemies  and  of  victims     (Plate  III.,  Fig.  3.) 

Among  the  Citigrade  or  ground  spiders,  the  same  fact  may  be  noted. 
Their  colors  are  generally  neutral  or  dull  grayish,  mottled  or 
Mimick-  striped  with  black.  They  thus  blend  easily  with  the  colors  of 
mg  ar  ^j^^  ground  and  stalks  of  plants  and  grasses  among  which  they 
Ground,  frequently  move.  Some  of  these  spiders  when  found  in  littoral 
sites  take  upon  them  the  color  of  their  surroundings.  For  ex- 
ample, the  Turret  spider,  which  I  have  observed   along  the  seashore  from 

^  Spiders  of  Dorset. 


370  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Cape  Ann  southward,  burrowing  in  her  characteristic  perpendicular  holes, 
has  in  such  sites  a  color  quite  corresponding  with  that  of  the  white  sand 
in  which  she  dwells.  ^  The  same  species  taken  further  in  the  interior  is 
found  of  a  darker  hue,  thus  resembling  the  soil  in  which  it  lives.  This 
would  appear  to  be  a  decided  example  of  the  adaptation  of  color  to  envi- 
ronment, or,  as  better  stated,  the  influence  of  environment  upon  color. 

Cambridge  refers  to  like  facts  as  marking  English  species.  A  Lateri- 
grade,  Xysticus  sabulosus  Hahn,  so  exactly  resembles  both  in  form  and 
color  the  little  bits  of  gret,  yellowish  black,  and  red  brown  mottled  stone, 
found  on  the  bare  patches  where  turf  has  been  pared  off  the  heaths,  that 
until  the  spider  moves  it  is  almost  impossible  to  detect  it.  Lycosa  herbi- 
grada,  a  gray  spider  marked  with  black  and  brown  markings,  is  another 
instance  of  exact  adaptation  to  the  gray,  sandy  heaths  where  it  occurs; 
while  Philodromus  fallax  is  equally  well  concealed  by  the  perfect  adapta- 
tion to  the  coloring  of  the  dull  yellowish,  sandy  spots  where  alone  it  is  met 
with.  The  common  and  beautiful  English  Epeira  cucurbitina,  found  on 
rose  and  other  bushes,  in  gardens  and  woods,  is  of  a  clear,  bright  green 
color  with  a  brightish  red  spot  at  the  hinder  extremity  of  the  abdomen  ; 
this  spider,  when,  as  it  often  does,  it  sits  tucked  up  between  the  green 
shoot  and  the  axil  of  the  leaf,  looks  exactly  like  a  young  bud  just  ready 
to  burst.  2 

Mimicry  and  the  survival  of  the  fittest  have  been  suggested  to  account 
for  this  interesting  habit.     It  is  argued  that  those  spiders,  among  the  nu- 
merous broodlings  hatched  out  from  the  eggs,  whose  colors  most 

~  ^  "^f      closely  resemble  those  of  the  flowers  alluded  to   above,   are  the 
Selection.  ,.,  .,  ^      -,        n     ■,        i  n 

ones  which  survive,  by  reason  both  oi   the  degree  or   protection 

against   enemies   derived   from   their   likeness  to  colors   of  the  flower,   and 

their  facility  to  capture  prey  because  of  the  same  resemblance,  which  would 

naturally  conceal  their  presence.     In  other  words,  those  spiderlings  which 

by  any  chance  happen  to  find  lodging  upon  yellow  flowers,  or  flowers  most 

closely  colored  like  themselves,  are  the  ones   which  survive  the  perils  of 

spider  babyhood  and  grow  to  adult  age. 

Before  one  fully  accepts  this  theory  it  will  be  well  to  consider  certain 

difficulties.     The  most  perilous   age   of   spiders,  as   is  well  known,  is   that 

which  immediately  follows  exode  from  the  cocoon.  In  a  multi- 
,.  "     tude  of  cases  in  which  these  Kttle  ones  entered  life  far  removed 

from  any  flowers  corresponding  with  their  normal  color,  how 
are  we  to  account  for  their  preservation  ?  Certainly  they  did  live  and 
retain  their  natural  colors  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  golden  rods,  black- 
eyed  Susans,  ox-eyed  daisies,  and  flowers  of  like  hue.  Moreover,  one  is 
compelled  to   establish  the  fact  that  the   opening  up  of  these  flowers  cor- 

^  See   my   notes  on  "The  Turret  Spider  on   Coffin's  Beach,"   Proceed.  Acad.   Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1888,  page  333.  ^  Spiders  of  Dorset. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS.  371 


responds  with  the  entrance  of  the  little  fellows  into  life,  and  that  the  pe- 
riod of  flowering  is  contemporaneous  with  their  growth.  It  seems  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  sustain  consistently  the  theory  of  survival,  that  a  yellow 
spiderling  should  have  a  yellow  environment  from  the  outset,  and  that 
a  white  and  pink  spider  should  have  a  corresponding  site  from  exode 
to  maturity.  But,  in  point  of  fact,  when  we  find  the  adult  Misumena 
upon  a  half  opened  rose,  as  in  the  cases  above  mentioned,  we  know  that 
the  rose  was  opened  up  but  yesterday,  whereas  the  spider  must  have  been 
several  weeks  in  maturing.  This  is  true  of  all  cases,  or  certainly  of  most 
cases,  in  which  we  find  adult  spiders  domiciled  or  ambushed  upon  flowers. 
We  are  therefore  compelled  to  the  conclusion  that  the  color  did  not 
nourish  the  spider  by  providing  for  it  a  protective  site,  but  that  the 
spider  sought  the  flower  and  settled  upon  it,  either  accidentally  or  of 
choice. 

Epeira    parvula  is  a  spider    remarkable  for   the  variations   it  presents 
in  the  dorsal  markings  of  the  abdomen.     It  is  widely  distributed  through- 
out the  United  States  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  everywhere  has 

^      ,        the  same   characteristic.     I   have  usually  found   it  upon  its  orb 
parvula.  .  ^     .  ^ 

waiting   for   prey,  but    like   other   Epeiras   it    undoubtedly   rests 

upon  adjacent  objects.  The  Peckhams  cite  this  species  as  an  example  of 
protective  resemblance  in  spiders.  ^  It  is  a  common  spider  in  Wisconsin, 
and  the  Peckhams  most  frequently  saw  it  on  cedar  bushes,  where  its  color 
harmonizes  with  the  color  of  branch  and  fruit.  During  the  day  it  usually 
rests  on  the  branch  near  its  web.  The  back  'of  the  abdomen  is  a  peculiar 
bluish  green,  exactly  like  that  of  the  lichens  growing  on  tree  barks.  The 
bluish  color  is  broken  up  by  waving  black  lines,  which  imitate  the  curl- 
ing edges  of  the  lichens.  I  reproduce  the  drawing  given  by  the  Peckhams 
to  illustrate  this  resemblance.  (See  Plate  III.,  Fig.  5.)  Undoubtedly,  the 
resemblance  in  this  case  is  striking,  but  I  take  it  to  be  simply  an  accident 
of  the  situation.  Parvula  is  found  everywhere  and  upon  all  sorts  of  foli- 
age, even  where  cedar  bushes  and  lichens  are  not  found.  It  is  necessary 
to  remember  this,  although,  of  course,  it  does  not  gainsay  the  fact  that 
among  Wisconsin  cedar  bushes  it  may  have  received  some  benefit  from  the 
resemblance  which  the  Peckhams  note. 

The   suggestion   has    been  raised    that  there   may   be  some    protective 
value   in   the  brilliant   metallic   colors  which  are  possessed  in  a   high  de- 
gree by  some  species  of  spiders.     I  have  no  observations  to  offer 
e  a  ic     ^^   ^Y^Q   subject,   but    quote   a   remark    of    Mr.   A.    G.    Butler,  of 
the  Kensington  Museum.     He  says  that  metallic  colors  are  not 
a  source  of  protection  from  birds,  as  birds  know  nothing  of  the  nature  of 
metal,  and  whatever  is  brilliant  and  shining  they  make  for  at  once,  to  see 
whether  it  is  good  to  eat.-^ 


^  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection,  page  83.        ^  Jour.  Royal  Micros.  Soc,  1889,  page  633. 


372  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


V. 

Examples  of  cocoon  mimicry  are  furnished  by  certain  American  Orb- 
weavers,  as,  for  example,  Cyclosa  caudata  and  Cyclosa  bifurca.  These 
spiders  make  cocoons  which  in  general  shape  and  color  closely 
Cocoon  resemble  the  mother.  The  cocoons  are  hung  in  a  connected  se- 
ries within  the  orb,  a  rather  exceptional  disposition.  The  mother 
clings  to  the  lower  cocoon  of  the  string,  and  might  easily  be  confounded 
with  her  cocoon.  The  conical  shape  of  Caudata's  cocoon  is  paralleled  by  the 
compressed  apex  of  her  abdomen,  which  has  given  her  the  name  of  the 
Tailed  spider.  Her  color  also,  a  grayish  white  mottled  with  blackish  mark- 
ings, increases  the  resemblance  between  her  and  her  egg  sac,  which  is  com- 
posed of  whitish  silk  covered  over  with  the  scalpage  or  debris  of  slaugh- 
tered insects.  Cyclosa  bifurca  is  colored  green,  and  her  cocoon  has  a 
greenish  hue.     (See  Plate  IV.,  Figs.  10,  11,  12.) 

The  suggestion  has  been  made  that  placing  cocoons  of  this  particular 
form  within  the  limits  of  the  spider's  snare,  has  a  tendency  to  deceive 
attacking  insects,  such  as  raiding  mud  dauber  wasps  or  arachnophagous 
birds.  Professor  Peckham  alludes  to  the  fact  that  Caudata,  when  a  vibra- 
ting tuning  fork  is  placed  near  her,  instead  of  remaining  steadfast  upon 
her  snare,  drops  from  it  in  the  way  common  to  Orbweavers,  and  thus  be- 
trays her  position  and  exposes  her  person.  ^  The  implication  is  that,  were 
the  resemblance  really  protective,  the  spider  would  have  held  steadfast 
and  not  acted  as  she  did. 

On  the  contrary,  it  seems  to  me  that  this  fact  does  not  really  break 
down  the  force  of  the  suggestion  that  such  mimicry  may  be  protective.  For 
we  must  conceive  that  a  raiding  bird  or  wasp,  if  deceived  at  all 
caudata  ^^  ^^^  appearance  of  the  cocoons  hanging  in  the  snare,  would 
flutter  from  one  cocoon  to  another  until  at  last  the  spider  would 
be  reached  at  the  end  of  the  string.  The  vibration  of  the  wings  of  a  bird 
or  insect  would  be  the  spider's  warning  of  the  nearness  of  -an  enemy, 
and  her  chance  of  safety  would  certainly  be  to  drop  from  her  web  at 
once.  Of  course,  if  the  assailant  should  first  strike  the  spider  herself  her 
opportunity  to  escape  would  not  be  great ;  but  supposing  that  there  is  about 
an  equal  chance  that  the  assailant  would  strike  one  of  the  cocoons,  think- 
ing it  to  be  a  spider,  in  that  case  the  mother  has  a  fair  opportunity  to 
escape,  and  her  chances  are  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  cocoons  in  the 
string.  Mr.  Peckham's  experiment,  therefore,  instead  of  showing  against 
the  suggestion  that  the  cocoon  mimicry  is  useful  to  Caudata,  seems  to  me 
to  be  entirely  in  harmony  with  it. 

In  this  connection  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  young  of  Caudata  are  in 
the  habit  of  hanging  upon  their  orbs  little  pufPs  of  silk  closely  resembling 


Mental  Powers  of  Spiders,"  page  395. 


MIMICRY    IN   SPIDERS. 


373 


Fid.  318.    Cyclosa  caudata  and  her  string  of  cocoons.    The  two  upper  cocoons 
are  covered  with  insect  d6bris. 


374  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


the  cocoons  of  an  adult  mother,  and  in  the   same  position  upon  the  orb. 
These  cocoons  are  also  covered  with  the  disjecta  membra  of  minute  insects 

killed  by  the  spiderlings.  How  shall  we  account  for  this  strange 
Young       imitation   of  a   maternal   habit  by  the  young  ?     Are    these   puif 

balls  "dummies"?  Is  their  purpose  to  deceive  assaulting  ene- 
mies, and  thus  protect  their  maker?  I  know  no  examples  of  a  similar 
habit,  except  certain  Gasteracanthas,  that  sometimes  spread  like  objects  at 
various  points  upon  their  webs,  and  a  single  case  of  Acrosoma  rugosa, 
whose  orb  I  found  to  be  decorated  in  like  manner. 

Fig.  318  represents  Caudata,  much  enlarged,  clinging  to  a  new  made 
cocoon,  while  two  others  hang  above,  covered  with  the  disjecta  membra  of 
slain  victims.  In  nature  the  cocoons  are  often  much  more  thickly  covered 
than  here  shown.  A  slight  viscidity  of  the  silken  fibre  of  the  sacs  evi- 
dently assists  this  habit,  although  the  scalpage  is  tied  or  lashed  to  the 
surface  by  minute  threads.  By  the  time  the  maternal  cares  of  the  spider 
are  ended,  if  the  season  be  one  fruitful  of  insects,  not  only  all  the  cocoons, 
but  the  connecting  parts  of  the  supporting  string,  will  be  hung  thickly 
with  this  ghastly  crop. 

Dr.  Martin  Lister  ^  observed  the  habit  in  Cyclosa  conica,  a  European 
species  that  corresponds  closely  with   our   Caudata,  of  thus  stringing  the 

debris  of  its  prey  along  the  central  vertical  line  of  its  snare.  In 
"  attributing  the  act  to  a  sort  of  "  pride  of  the  chase  "  (venationis 
gloriola),  he  gave  a  reason  perhaps  as  near  the  truth  as  some  other  theo- 
ries. It  is  at  least  sufficiently  startling  to  find  in  the  habits  of  an  aranead 
such  a  striking  analogue  of  the  customs  of  our  savage  human  fellows  who 
decorate  their  persons,  lodges,  and  villages  with  the  scalps  and  skulls  of 
the  unhappy  victims  of  war  and  cannibal  feasts.  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  habit  is  for  the  most  part  protective  of  the  young,  being  intended 
to  guard  the  egg  sac  from  the  assaults  of  parasitic  enemies.  If  so,  it  is  a 
convenient  substitute  for  chopped  straw,  mud,  gnawed  wood,  etc.,  with 
which  other  araneads  defend  their  eggs  from  enemies.  But  it  has  the  dis- 
advantage of  depending  wholly  upon  the  somewhat  uncertain  chances  of 
the  chase.  These  chances,  however,  are  the  best,  and  indeed  the  only  ones 
at  her  disposal.  The  habit  of  suspending  her  cocoons  within  her  viscid 
orb  well  nigh  estops  her  from  descending  to  the  ground  or  adjoining  plants 
to  procure  dirt  or  chippage,  as  species  can  readily  do  that  attach  cocoons 
to  various  surfaces.  I  have  seen  only  one  case  in  which  Caudata's  cocoons 
appeared  to  be  daubed  with  particles  of  mud.  The  general  and  special 
habits  are  thus  happily  harmonized. 

In  addition  to  this  the  habit  may  also  serve  as  a  protection  to  the 
spider  herself.  At  all  events,  as  she  hangs  at  the  tip  of  one  of  these  orna- 
mented   cocoons    she    is   with    some    difficulty  distinguishable    from    them, 


1  Hist.  Animal  Angl.,  page  33,  34,  Tit.  4. 


MIMICRY   IN   SPIDERS. 


375 


Protect 
ive  Re- 
sem- 
blance. 


since  the  colors  of  her  body,  as  well  as  its  shape,  correspond  well  with 
the  colors  of  the  egg  sac.  We  might,  therefore,  regard  this  as  a  case  of 
protective  mimicry.  This  scalpage  is  never  in  the  shape  of  re- 
served stores  of  food,  as  Lister  seems  to  think,  and  therefore 
cannot  be  cited,  as  by  Kirby  and  Spence,^  to  show  that  Conica 
is  "  more  provident  than  its  brethren."  Those  distinguished  en- 
tomologists should  have  known  that  spiders  do  not  feed  upon 
the  hard  shells  of  dead  insects. 

This  mode  of  disposing  of  the  fragments  of  her  feasts  is  not  limited 
to  Caudata's  cocoons.  Like  her  English  congener  Conica,  as  described  by 
Lister,  she  hangs  those  remnants  upon  her  snare.  I  often  see  orbs  through 
the  middle  of  which  are  stretched,  above  and  below  the  hub,  a  perpendic- 
ular ribbon  of  open  fibre.  Along  this  will  be  attached  two  or  three  little 
conical  balls  above  and  below  the  hub  (see  Fig.  319),  composed  of  tRe 
members  of  dead  insects  cut  into  fine  particles  and  lashed  together  by 
threads.  May  we  venture  to  suppose  that  this  also  is  a 
case  of  mimicry,  that  is  to  say,  a  purpose  to  set  up  "  dum- 
mies" to  distract  the  attacks  of  hymenopterous  and  other 
enemies  from  her  own  person? 

I  have  met  a  like  behavior  in  Acrosoma  rugosa.  The 
web  was  a  small  one,  five  inches  in  diameter,  spun  between 
the  branches  of  a  fir  tree.  Around  the  margin 
the  remains  of  seven  flies  were  threaded,  much 
in  the  fashion  above  descrihed.  .Three  of  these 
were  above  and  three  below  the  centre.  They 
appeared  to  be  mere  shells,  not  fresh  insects  trussed  up  for 
future  use,  as  one  often  sees  when  flies  are  plenty.  They 
had  not  simply  become  thus  entangled  when  cast  out  from 
the  web,  for  three  of  them  were  fastened  above  the  centre,  at  which 
the  spider  sits,  and  the  four  below  were  arranged  along  the  arc  of  a 
circle  in  such  order  and  position  as  to  indicate  design.  I  never  met  this 
peculiarity  in  the  snare  of  Rugosa  except  in  this  one  case,  and  have  not 
observed  anything  like  it  in  any  other  species.  As  a  habit  it  exists  in 
Caudata  alone. 

The  young  of  Caudata,  as  I  have  frequently  noticed,  have  precisely  the 
same  curious  habit  that  marks  the  adults,  to  string  along  the  central  band 
of  their  webs  fluffy,  loose  bunches  of  silk,  covered  with  little  particles  of 
trapped  insects,  which  increase  in  size  as  she  grows.  Mrs.  Mary  Treat  has 
observed  the  same  habit.  ^  The  transmission  and  early  possession,  in  full 
force  of  such  an  exceptional  and  remarkable  habit,  is  peculiarly  note- 
worthy, and,  except  on  the  theory  of  protective  mimicry,  it  perhaps  would 
be   difficult   to   suggest   any   useful   purpose   in   the   habit.     A   gentleman 


Acro- 
soma 
rugosa. 


Fig.  319.  Balls  of 
insect  debris  in 
Caudata's  snare. 


1  Introd.  Ento.,  I.,  421. 


My  Garden  Pete,"  page  42. 


376 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


friend,  who  heard  this  statement,  suggested  that  the  spiderlings  might  be 
"  playing  mother "  and  dandling  their  rag  baby  cocoons  as  our  children 
do  their  dolls ! 

Since  the  spiderlings  thus  have  the  habit,  it  may  perhaps  be  consid- 
ered as  primarily  for  personal  protection,  and  it  is  interesting  to  find  it 
transferred  to  the  protection  of  the  cocoon.  Or,  if  we  suppose  that  the 
habit  arose  primarily  to  protect  the  cocoon,  it  is  even  more  interesting  to 
think  that  it  has  been  carried  over  by  heredity  to  the  young  for  their 
own  protection.  It  is  impossible  not  to  suspect  that  this  habit  may  have 
arisen  from  the  prevalent  custom  of  trussing  up  newly  caught  flies  for  food. 
In  the  cases  of  Cyclosa  caudata  (Fig.  318)  and  Cyclosa  bifurca  (Plate 
IV.,  Figs.  10  and  11)   one  must  allow  a  striking  resemblance  between  the 

general  appearance  of  the  cocoons  and  the  mothers 
who  make  them.  But  when  one  comes  to  inquire 
if  the  like  resemblances  prevail  generally  among 
spiders,  he  finds  that  these  two  species,  and  a  few 
others,  stand  in  a  small  group  by  themselves.  As 
shown  in  the  preceding  chapter  on  Color,  there  is 
little  resemblance  between  the  great  majority  of  spi- 
der mothers  and  the  cocoons  which  they  make, 
either  in  general  shape  or  color. 

However,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  value 
of  cocoon  mimicry  would  naturally  be  limited  to 
those  species  which  hang  their  cocoons  in  or  upon 
their  snares,  and  to  those  which  brood  their  cocoons 
or  watch  upon  or  near  them  while  the  young  are 
being  hatched.  Of  course,  there  would  be  no  util- 
ity in  such  a  resemblance  in  species  that  make  their 
cocoons  and  forthwith  abandon  them  or  die.  Nev- 
ertheless, if  we  glance  over  the  list  of  mothers  that 
hang  their  cocoons  in  their  snares,  it  becomes  ap- 
parent that  even  with  them  cocoon  mimicry  must 
be  limited.  Argyrodes  trigonum,  as  she  hangs 
bunched  in  her  retitelarian  web  (Fig.  109,  page  113),  might  be  said  to 
have  some  resemblance  to  her  basket  shaped  cocoon.  The  familiar  The- 
ridium  tepidariorum  is  also  a  good  example  of  resemblance  between  a 
mother  and  her  cocoons,  both  in  general  shape  and  color.  (See  Chapter  V., 
page  112,  Fig.  107.) 

Uloborus  plumipes  is  not  unlike  her  cocoons  as  she  hangs  with 
bunched  and  elongated  legs  beneath  her  orb.  (See  Fig.  104,  page  109.) 
In  fact  the  Peckhams  cite  this  species  as  an  example  of  deceptive 
resemblance.  1      In  Wisconsin    these    observers    found   Uloborus    invariably 

^  Observations  on  Sexual  Selection,  page  7G,  pi.  iv. 


b 

( 

T- 

1^ 

I' 
1 

/T 

1 

1 

Pig.  320.  Collections  of  insect 
debris  in  the  orb  of  a  young 
Cyclosa  caudata. 


MIMICRY    IN   SPIDERS.  377 


building  in  dead  branches,  where  its  wood  brown  or  grayisli  color  resem- 
bles small  pieces  of  bark  or  bits  of  rubbish  entangled  in  deserted  webs. 
They  also  perceive  a  case  of  cocoon  mimicry  in  her  habit  of  so  disposing 
her  grayish  cocoons  along  the  web  as  to  look  like  a  mass  of  rubbish.  The 
protective  resemblance  in  this  species,  therefore,  is  twofold  :  that  of  the 
spider  to  particles  of  dead  wood  entangled  in  its  snare,  and  to  the  dry 
branches  among  which  the  snare  is  spun;  and  again,  that  of  the  spider 
to  her  cocoon.  When  Uloborus  is  found,  however,  as  I  often  have  found 
it,  in  the  midst  of  green  laurel  bushes  or  other  verdant  environment,  the 
fact  of  a  protective  resemblance  disappears.  If  we  concede  the  cause  of 
mimicry  as  urged  by  the  Peckhams,  we  must  go  still  further,  it  seems  to 
me,  and  suppose  that  the  spider  is  endowed  with  a  power,  in  one  locality, 
which  forsakes  her  in  another,  and  it  may  be  a  nearby  one. 

Theridium  serpentinum  ^  (Fig.  108,  page  112),  with  her  glossy  brown 
colors,  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  bearing  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
snow  white  cocoons  which  she  hangs  within  her  snare;  and  Epeira  laby- 
rinthea  (Fig.  85,  page  100)  can  by  no  stress  of  imagination  be  reckoned 
as  bearing  a  resemblance  to  her  cocoons. 

^  This  species  Dr.  Marx  catalogues  as  a  synonym  of  Teutana  triangulosa  Walck.  "  Cata- 
logue of  the  Described  Aranese  of  Temperate  North  America,"  Proceed.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  1890, 
No.  782,  page  521. 


OHAPTEE  XIII. 
ENEMIES  AND  THEIR   INFLUENCE   ON  HABIT. 

We  have  considered  the  means  by  which  maternal  instinct  secures  the 
life  and  growth  of  the  spider  young.  It  is  necessary  to  study  the  natural 
methods  by  which  excessive  reproduction  is  held  in  check,  for  Nature 
presents  to  the  observer  a  more  or  less  continuous  series  of  favoring  and 
adverse  circumstances,  a  "  balance  of  power,"  so  to  speak,  by  which  on  one 
hand  life  is  protected,  and  on  the  other  is  devoted  to  destruction.  In 
each  case  there  is  equal  regard  for  the  common  good  and  the  general  har- 
mony of  Nature. 


The  perils  which  beset  the  spider  are  many,  serious,  and  diversified. 
They  besiege  the  very  gate  of  being  and  cease  not  their  relentless  vigil 
until  the  coveted  life  has  been  yielded.  The  "  natural  death  " 
iversi-  ^^  ^-^^  aranead  is  a  violent  one  ;  comparatively  few  spiders,  per- 
haps, outside  of  those  mothers  who  perish  from  inanition  shortly 
after  the  act  of  cocooning,  have  any  other.  It  is  this  fact  which  compels 
the  great  fecundity  of  the  female,  inasmuch  as  otherwise  the  species  could 
not  be  preserved. 

It  is  possible  for  one  to  conceive  how  the  protective  habits  which  have 
been  heretofore  described  might  have  gradually  resulted  from  the  mother's 
struggle  with  her  own  enemies  and  those  of  her  progeny.  But,  it  is  far 
otherwise  when  one  asks,  could  this  struggle  have  so  reacted  upon  the 
structure  of  the  animal  as  to  thus  modify  its  organs  of  reproduction  ?  If 
no  other  obstacle  presented,  there  would  remain  the  seemingly  insurmount- 
able difficulty  of  accounting  for  the  continuance  of  the  species  at  all  dur- 
ing the  long  interval  required  for  the  supposed  adjustment  of  the  organs. 
However  that  •may  be,  we  shall  see  that  there  is  need  for  all  the  eggs  laid 
and  young  hatched,  and  all  the  protective  instincts  and  industries  by  which 
these  ends  are  secured. 

There  is,  of  course,  more  or  less  irregularity  in  the  operation  of  un- 
friendly agents,  which  are  themselves  subject  to  laws  of  variation.  In  such 
case  there  is  a  corresponding  variation  in  the  security  of  the  species,  and 
so  of  their  increase.  The  effects  of  a  season  unfavorable  to  spiders  or 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  some  enemy,  or,  on  the  contrary,  advantageous 

(378) 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR    INFLUENCE. 


379 


to  the  one  and  inimical  to  the  other,  may  be  seen  in  the  number  of  ara- 
neads  in  that  or  the  succeeding  year.  This  is  also  true  of  the  abundance 
or  lack  of  a  natural  food  supply.  For  example,  the  boat  houses,  fences,  and 
outbuildings  at  Atlantic  City  fairly  swarm  with  Epeiroids,  especially  Sclop- 
etaria  and  Strix.  This  abundance  is  probably  caused  by  the  presence  of 
greenhead  flies  with  which  the  district  is  infested  and  which,  affording 
an  excess  of  food  for  the  adult  and  partly  grown  spiders,  relieves  them 
from  the  necessity  of  preying  upon  their  own  species,  which  thus  increase 
enormously  as  compared  with  sections  a  little  distant. 

But  with  these  and  such  like  exceptions,  and  notwithstanding  all  other 
variations,  the  distribution  of  a  given  orbweaving  species  in  a  given  sec- 
tion will  be  found  surprisingly  uniform  from  year  to  year.  The  balance 
of  hostile  and  unfriendly  influences  is  held  well  poised  by  Nature's  even 
hand.  The  enemies  of  spiders 
may  be  divided  generally  into 
those  which  assail  the  animal 
itself  and  those  which  affect 
its  eggs. 

Among  the  enemies  of  spi- 
ders, as  of  all  other  creatures, 

may  be    placed    the 

Season         i  £   4.-U 

p,  changes  of  the  sea- 

sons. The  araneads' 
power  to  endure  cold  is  great, 
but  an  unusually  cold  and 
moist  winter  will  destroy 
many.  Heavy  rains  prove  fa- 
tal, especially  to  the  young, 
and  to  females  great  with 
eggs — beating  down  the  foliage 
in  which  they  are  ensconced,  or  sweeping  the  creatures  themselves  to  the 
ground.  The  extreme  tension  of  the  abdominal  sac  under  the  distended 
ovaries  makes  fatal  a  shock  that  otherwise  would  work  little  harm. 

It  is  well  known  that  toads  and  lizards  take  kindly  to  a  spider  diet. 
In  southern  Florida  I  once  found  a  young  lizard,  while  in  the  act  of 
shedding  its  skin,  and  with  the  white  moult  still  adhering  to  it, 
devouring  a  large  Tetragnatha.  (Fig.  321.)  Many  birds  relish 
spiders  and  pursue  them  at  all  seasons,  plucking  the  Sedentary  species  out 
of  their  very  webs.  In  the  autumn,  when  the  broods  of  younglings  are  all 
afloat  upon  their  little  aerial  ships,  swallows  and  swifts,  birds  that  take 
their  prey  upon  the  wing,  have  been  seen  skimming  the  tiny  balloonists 
into  their  bills  as  they  coursed  the  air.  A  specimen  shot  for  examina- 
tion showed  the  accuracy  of  the  observation  by  the  presence  of  spiderlings 
in  the   crop.     It   may  be   said   in  brief  that  all   the   larger   animals  with 


Fig.  321.    A  moulting  lizard  eating  a  spider. 


Animals. 


380 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


insectivorous  habits  embrace  the  aranead  nations  also  in  their  menu.  Mon- 
keys eat  tliem  ;  Hentz  discovered  a  rat  eating  Oxyopes  viridans;i  and  we 
have  an  account,  which  may  pass  for  what  it  is  worth,  of  even  sheep 
upon  the  Steppes  of  Russia  devouring  certain  ground  spiders.  ^ 

Many  spiders  while  yet  immature  fall  victims  to  the  voracity  of  their 
own  species.  I  have  elsewhere  considered  the  charge  of  cannibalism  as 
lodged  against  spiderlings  while  yet  within  the  cocoon,  show- 
uanm-  ^^^^  ^j^^^  ^^  ^  ^^^q  their  cradle  life  and  earliest  babyhood  are 
largely  exempt  from  the  perils  of  internecine  hunger.  But  when 
once  the  solitary  habit  of  the  race  has  compelled  the  individuals  to  sep- 
arate and  dwell  apart,  Nature  relaxes  her  restraining  influence  and  hunger 
converts  all  available  objects  into  legitimate  prey.  After  this  period  it  is 
not  possible  to  defend  our  aranead  friends  against  the  charge  of  canni- 
balism, even  of  the  most  revolting 
kind.  Brothers  and  sisters  eat  each 
other  up  without  hesitation,  and  since, 
naturally,  fellow  broodlings  are  likely 
to  pitch  their  tents  and  spin  their 
snares  in  closest  contiguity,  it  comes 
to  pass  that  many  of  every  brood  are 
devoted  as  sacrifices  to  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  few  surviv- 
ors to  whom  Nature  has  committed 
the  perpetuity  of  the  species.  Out- 
side of  these  limits,  everywhere,  spi- 
ders will  prey  upon  their  kind  as 
opportunity  allows,  even  the  hours 
allotted  to  courtship  and  amatory  em- 
brace not  being  wholly  exempt  from 
the  perils  of  this  general  tendency. 


Fig.  322.    A  wasp  plucking  an  Orbweaver  from 
its  snare. 


II. 


Perhaps   the    most    persistent    and 
destructive  natural  enemies  of  spiders 
are  certain  hymenopterous  insects  be- 
longing to  the  large  family  of  was[)S 
known  popularly  as  mud  daubers  and  diggers. 

It  has  often  been  remarked  by  ordinary  observers  that  wasps  can  visit 
a  spider's  web  not  only  with  impunity,  but  as  a  successful  assailant  of 
the  occupant  thereof.  This  fact  has  crept  into  literature,  and  is  embalmed 
by  Goethe  in  a  striking  allusion  to  his  father.  "Willingly,"  he  writes  in 
his  autobiography,    "as   I   have   made   myself   familiar   with   all   sorts    of 


1  Spiders  of  the  U.  S.,  page  46.  ^  Walckenaer,  Apt.,  Vol.  I.,  page  172. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  381 


conditions,  and  many  as  had  been  my  inducements  to  do  so,  an  excessive 
aversion   from   all   Inns   had,  nevertheless,  been   instilled   into   me   by  my 

father.  This  feeling  had  rooted  itself  firmly  in  him  on  his  trav- 
Goetne  ^jg  through  Italy,  France,  and  Germany.  Although  he  seldom 
.^  spoke  in  images,  and  only  called  them  to  his  aid  when  he  was 

very  cheerful,  yet  he  used  often  to  repeat  that  he  always  fancied 
he  saw  a  great  cobweb  spun  across  the  gate  of  an  Inn  so  ingeniously 
that  the  insects  could  indeed  fly  in,  but  that  even  the  privileged  wasp 
could  not  fly  out  again  unplucked,"  But  the  number  of  those  who,  hav- 
ing observed  the  scathless  incursions  of  "the  privileged  wasp"  into  cob- 
web domains,  also  know  the  purpose  thereof,  is  exceedingly  small.  Yet  it 
is  inspired  by  one  of  the  most  common  and  interesting  instincts  in  the 
insect  world. 

If  we  follow  the  wasp  a  little  space  backward  from  her  cobweb  raid,  we 
snail  see  her  fluttering  over  the  muddy  margin  of  pond,  puddle,  or  stream. 
She  is  seeking  mortar,  which,  gathered  between  her  mandibles,  she  carries 
away  through  the  air.  Following  her  flight,  we  find  her  engaged  upon  the 
broken  face  of  a  cliff,  the  rugose  surface  of  a  wall,  or  the  rough  boards 
or  beams  in  angle  or  cornice  of  some  house,  stable,  or 
outbuilding.  She  carefully  spreads  her  mortar,  smooths 
it,  rounds  and  arches  it,  until,  after  many  successive 
visits  to  the  mud  bed,  she  has  built  a  cell  about  an 
inch  long  and  three-eighths  to  half  an  inch  thick. 
(Fig.  323.)  The  middle  of  this  cell  is  a  hollow  cylinder, 
within  which  the  mother  wasp,  for  such  the  little  ma- 
son is,  deposits  a  single  egg.  It  is  at  this  point  that 
the  raids  upon  spider  webs  begin.  The  egg  in  course 
of  time  is  to  become  a  ravenous,  flesh  eating  worm,  an 
arachnophagous  larva ;  a  soft,  legless,  whitish  maggot,  •^•^■■^■i-' 
with    a   somewhat    hornv   head    and   a   strong    pair   of     ^Z'-  ^^-  J^!  "''^"^  °^ 

f^     r  the  mud  dauber  wasp. 

jaws,  but  no  other  weapons  whatever.  The  food  which 
Nature  foreordains  for  it  is  living  spiders,  and  those  spiders  the  mother 
proceeds  to  capture  and  entomb  within  her  mud  daub  nurser3^  On  this 
errand  she  may  be  seen  hawking  over  and  near  cobwebs  of  various  sorts, 
venturing  within  the  meshed  and  beaded  snares  that  prove  fatal  to  most 
incomers,  and  sometimes  even  to  herself.  She  rarely  fails  in  her  errand. 
If  the  aranead  occupant,  expectant  of  prey,  sallies  forth  to  seize  the  in- 
truder, it  finds  itself  a  captive,  not  a  captor.  For  the  wasp  shakes  the 
silken  filaments  from  feet  and  wings,  turns  upon  the  spider,  seizes  and 
stings  it,  bears  it  to  her  cell,  and  thrusts  it  therein. 

She  does  not  limit  her  hawking  to  cobwebs,  but  flutters  over  flowers, 
burrows  among  leaves,  creeps  with  nervous,  twitching  tread  along  branches 
of  trees,  wherever  spiders  dwell  or  hunt,  and  with  relentless  cunning,  zeal, 
and   ferocity   snatches  those  creatures  away  to   add   to   the  growing   store 


382  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


within  her  egg  nest.  At  last  the  cavity  is  filled,  the  circular  opening 
sealed  up,  and  the  spiders  left  literally  entombed  alive  within  that  clay 
sarcophagus. 

If  one  at  this  stage  should  break  open  the  mud  dauber's  cell,  he  might 
dispute  the  statement  that  the  imprisoned  spiders  are  alive.  To  all  ap- 
pearances they  are  dead.  In  point  of  fact  they  are  simply  paralyzed.  The 
effect  of  the  poison  injected  by  the  wasp's  sting  within  the  tissues  of  her 
victim  is  such  that  all  activity  is  at  once  and  completely  suspended,  with- 
out destroying  life.  Thus,  when  the  larval  waspkin  awakes  to  the  pangs 
of  hunger,  it  finds  itself  in  the  midst  of  a  generous  supply  of  the  very 
food  which  Nature  intended  for  it.  The  mother  whom  it  is  never  to 
know,  and  who  already  perhaps  has  paid  the  last  debt  to  Nature,  had  con- 
sumed her  closing  days  in  providing  for  the  offspring  which  she  was 
never  to  see.  I  have  found  these  larvae,  fat,  white  grubs,  in  the  midst 
of  their  "preserved  meats,"  feasting  thereon,  and  have  wondered  at   their 

enormous   appetite   and   the   greedy   vigor   with 
which  it  was  satisfied.     (Fig.  324.) 

Thus,  before  the  era  of  man.  Nature,  in  the 
person   of   a   wasp,  had   solved  the  problem  of 
preserving    animal   flesh   without   impairing   its 
value  as  food.     A  like  discovery  by  the  human 
species,  with  due   application  to  the   edible  do- 
Fio.  324.  A  wasp  larva  feeding  upon  mestic  auimals,  would  solvc  an  important  prob- 
lem   in    commercial    economy    which    has    only 
been  distantly  approached  by  the  ice  chambers  within  which   great  trans- 
portation lines  convey  butchers'  meats. 

It  w^ould  be  interesting  to  know  the  nature  of  the  poison  which  pro- 
duces such  remarkable  effects,  but  one  cannot  hope  that  it  will  ever  be 
,  procured  in  sufficient  quantity  to  permit  analysis.  How  long 
Poison  *^^  virus  may  preserve  its  peculiar  effect  before  death  results, 
or  whether  a  spider  once  stung  can  recover  health,  and-  to  what 
extent  sensation  is  retained,  have  been  points  of  inquiry  and  of  some  ex- 
periment. On  two  occasions  I  kept  under  observation  spiders  rescued 
from  the  jaws  of  wasps.  One  specimen  was  a  species  of  Tubeweaver, 
which  I  took  from  a  blue  wasp;  it  lived  about  two  weeks.  The  other 
species  was  a  large  female  Wolf  spider,  taken  by  a  friend  and  sent  to  me 
October  5th,  1875.  It  lived  until  the  17th;  twelve  days.  During  this 
period  the  creature  remained  entirely  motionless  and  the  limbs  retained 
any  position  in  which  they  were  placed.  These  examples  indicate  that 
there  is  no  recovery  from  the  poison,  and  that  death  is  suspended  for 
about  two  weeks. 

I  do  not  know  the  exact  period  required  for  the  development  of  the 
wasp  egg  to  a  feeding  larva,  but  it  is  something  longer  than  two  weeks. 
In  some  cases  I  have  found  the  spiders  within  the  wasp's  nidus  dead  and 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR    INFLUENCE.  383 

shriveled,  the  egg  probably  having  proved  infertile.  Again,  a  few  spiders 
would  be  dried  up,  while  others  were  plump  and  edible,  a  condition  in 
which  more  frequently  most  of  them  are  found.  It  is  certainly  one  of 
the  unhappy  possibilities  in  the  destiny  of  the  spider  that  it  may  be  con- 
strained to  abide  in  a  living  death  within  this  dark  vault  awaiting  the 
awakening  appetite  of  a  voracious  worm.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  kindly 
Nature  has  so  far  tempered  this  hard  doom  as  to  deprive  the  entombed 
creature  of  all  consciousness  of  her  condition  and  consequent  suffering 
therein.  Indeed  the  evidence  is  well  nigh  conclusive  that  sensation  is 
wholly  suspended  at  the  prick  of  the  insect's  sting. 

III. 

With  the  single  exception,  perhaps,  of  one  small  order,  Neuroptera,  no 
order  of  insects  is  exempt  from  the  attacks  of  the  all  devouring  wasps. 
Some  provision  their  nests  with  grasshoppers,  some  with  cockroaches,  some 
with  snoutbeetles  of  various  kinds, 
some  with  ants  and  bees,  a  few  with 
different  kinds  of  bugs,  frog  spittle, 
insects,  and  plant  lice;  a  great  num- 
ber of  them  with  various  kinds  of 
two  winged  flies,  and  a  still  greater 
number,  perhaps,  with  the  larvae  of 
various  moths.  ^  Most  observing  coun- 
try lads  have  noticed  the  assault  of 
the   handsome   digger  wasp,  Sphecius 

_^  /o(    1         \       /T-i-         f^r\r\  ^'^'  ^^"    '^^^  Cicada  wasp  (Sphecius  speciosus.) 

speciosus    Drury    (fephex),  (rig.   o25), 

upon  the  so  called  "locust,"  the  cicada  or  harvest  fly,  and  I  have  dug 
that  insect,  Cicada  pruinosa,  out  of  a  burrow  of  this  wasp  in  the  terrace 
of  a  West  Philadelphia  yard. 

Those  wasps  which  prey  upon  spiders  comprise  many  distinct  species 
belonging  to  widely  separated  genera.  Some  of  these  gather  many  spi- 
ders into  one  cell,  others  only  one.  The  insects  heretofore  noticed  are  of 
the  former  class,  the  species  most  destructive  in  this  region  being  prob- 
ably the  common  indigo  blue  mud  dauber,  Chalybion  cseruleum  Linn. 
(Sphex).  (Plate  V.,  Fig.  7,  natural  size.)  The  larval  cells  of  the  blue 
mud  dauber  are  commonly  laid  in  small  masses,  one  on  top  of  another. 
(Fig.  323.)  The  cells  of  the  common  mud  dauber  are  composed  of  one 
or  more  layers  or  tiers  of  clay  tubes,  arranged  one  above  another  or  side 
by  side  like  a  set  of  Pan's  pipes,  and  cemented  to  some  surface  protected 
from  the  weather.  One  such  specimen,  collected  in  the  autumn  (Fig.  326), 
I  kept  in  my  cabinet,  and  about  the  beginning  of  .luly  following,  a  num- 
ber of   black   digger  wasps,  Trypoxylon   politum   Say,  escaped   therefrom. 

^  Walsh,  American  Entomologist,  Vol.  I.,  No.  7,  1869,  page  126. 


384 


AMERICAN   SPIDEIIS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


I  obtained  no  other  species  from  these  nests,  but  cannot  affirm  that  no 
otlier  escaped^  It  may  be  a  question,  perhaps,  whether  the  mud  daubs 
were  made  by  Chalybion  or  Trypoxylon ;  but  we  have  the  great  authority 
of  the  late  Benjamin  D.  Walsh  that  the  latter  species  is  really  a  guest  wasp, 
not  building  and  provisioning  any  nest  for  itself,  but  laying  its  eggs 
in  the  nest  built  and  provisioned  by  the  former,  thus  appropriating 
for  its  own  future  progeny  the  spider  store  laid  up  by  the  industrious 
Chalybion  for  its  young. ^  It  is  curious  and  suggestive  to  trace  this  use 
and  wont  from  the  guest  wasp  and  the  cuckoo  up  to  the  human  species 
as  represented  alike  by  the  imperial  "  annexers "  of  Europe,  Africa,  and 
the  Orient,  and  the  "  land  grabbers "  of  the  Indian  Territory,  the  "  squat- 
ter sovereigns  "  of  the  border,  and  the 
"  claim  jumpers  "  of  Rocky  Mountain 
mining  districts. 

Among  the  wasps  that  provision 
their  nests  with  single  spiders  is  the 
common  blue  digger  wasp,  Chlorion 
cseruleum  Drury  (Sphex),  which,  un- 
like species  hitherto  alluded  to,  bur- 
rows in  the  earth.  It  excavates  its 
egg  nest  in  an  incredibly  short  time, 
sometimes  consuming  not  more  than 
a  minute  or  a  half  minute,  and  then 
places  therein  a  single  egg  together 
with  a  spider,  which  is  generally  a 
large  one.  With  its  front  pair  of  feet 
it  then  scrapes  back  the  dirt  which 
it  had  withdrawn,  frequently  stopping 
to  pat  it  down  with  its  abdomen. 
When  the  hole  is  filled  the  surface 
is  smoothed  to  the  level  of  the  sur- 
rounding soil.  The  large  and  beauti- 
ful Elis  4-notata  Fabr.  (Scolia),  (Plate 

'■°T„„':^roVelZV;p»;;oro.ftr.""''    v.,  Fig.   S,,   in^des  the  burrows   of 

Lycosids,  especially  Lycosa  tigrina, 
and  the  small  Priocnemus  pomilius  Cresson  has  been  taken  while  carrying 
a  Laterigrade,  a  species  of  Xysticus,  in  its  jaws. 

Another  example  of  wasps   that  store  single   spiders   is  the   large   and 

Tarantula  ^^'^^^^^"^  ^'^^^^^  formosa   Say   (Pompilus),   an   inhabitant   of  the 

Killer.        Southwestern    States    of  North    America,   where    it    is    popularly 

known    as    the    "tarantula    killer."      (Plate   V.,    Fig.    2.)      This 

name  is  given  because  of   its  habit  of  storing   its   burrow  with  that  most 

1  The  figure  here  given  (Fig.  326)  was  drawn  from  a  series  sawed  out  of  a  shed  at  Bell- 
wood,  Pennsylvania.  2  American  Entomologist,  Vol.  I.,  page  133. 


'ir^^f 


ENEMIES   AND    THEIR   INFLUENCE.  385 

formidable  of  our  spider  fauna,  Eurypelma  hentzii.  (Plate  V.,  Fig.  1.)  I 
have  seen  this  insect  in  Texas  hawking  for  its  gigantic  victim,  which 
showed  by  its  hurried  and  excited  action  full  consciousness  of  its  peril  as 
it  fled  with  eager  and  trembling  speed  before  its  pursuer.  The  late  Pro- 
fessor Buckley,  of  Austin,  describes  an  encounter  on  Texas  soil  between 
these  two  formidable  creatures. 

The  tarantula  killer  is  a  bustling,  unquiet  insect,  always  in  motion,  fly- 
ing now  here,  now  there,  and  when  running  on  the  ground  its  wings  are  in 
a  state  of  constant  vibration.  Should  it  discover  a  tarantula  it  begins  in- 
stantly to  fly  in  circles  in  the  air  around  its  victim.  The  spider,  as  if 
knowing  its  fate,  trembles  violently,  standing  up  and  making  a  show  of 
fight,  but  the  resistance  is  feeble  and  of  no  avail.  The  spider's  foe  soon 
discovers  a  favorable  moment  and  darts  upon  the  tarantula,  whom  it 
wounds  with  its  sting,  and  again  commences  flying  in  circles.  The  injured 
spider  is  thrown  into  a  tremor,  and  often  becomes  at  once  paralyzed, 
though  the  influence  of  a  second,  and  even  a  third,  wound  is  sometimes 
necessary.  Sooner  or  later  the  spider  becomes  powerless  when  the  victor 
approaches,  carefully  feeling  its  way  to  see  if  its  work  has  been  effectually 
done.  It  then  begins  to  drag  the  tarantula  into  a  hole  which  it  has  pre- 
viously dug  in  the  ground,  wherein  it  is  covered  up  after  the  deposition 
of  an  egg.  ^  The  courage  and  address  thus  shown  in  assault  upon  so  for- 
midable an  animal,  and  the  strength  and  perseverance  required  for  its  sub- 
sequent entombment,  are  of  the  highest  order  and  surely  evoke  admiration, 
however  much  we  may  pity  a  foe  doomed  to  so  hard  a  fate  as  to  be  par- 
alyzed, buried  alive,  and  afterward  devoured  by  a  greedy  grub. 

In  estimating  the  ravages  wrought  among  spiders  by  the  various  tribes 
of  wasps,  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  the  above  and  all  like  cases,  the 
mother  wasp,  although  depositing  but  one  egg  in  each  nidus,  has  a  num- 
ber of  eggs,  more  or  less,  to  dispose  of.  As  she  never  ceases  her  work 
until  every  egg  is  duly  deposited  and  its  future  offspring  provided  for,  the 
vast  destruction  carried  into  the  aranead  hosts  during  the  period  of  ma- 
ternal activity  may  better  be  imagined  than  expressed. 

IV. 

The  thought  had  occurred  to  me  while  examining  the  contents  of  mud 
daubs,  that  certain  species   of  spiders  were  preferred  by  the  wasps  as  pro- 
vision, and   that  possibly  certain  species  of   wasps  affect  certain 
Special      spider  species.     In  case  of  the  true  Diggers,  who  store  but  a  sin- 
of  Pr  ^^^  individual,  there  is  no  doubt  a  narrower  range  for  selection, 

and  even  a    specific  choice,  as  with  the  Tarantula  killer  and  the 
Fourspotted   Elis.     But    not    so   with   mud   daubers.     I  have  found  every 

'  Proceedings  Amer.  Ento.  Soc.  (Philadelphia),  Vol.  I.,  page  138.  See  also  an  account  by 
Dr.  G.  Lincecum,  Amer.  Entomologist,  Vol.  I.,  No.  6,  page  111. 


386  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


great  group  of  our  indigenous  spider  fauna  represented  in  broken  cells. 
The  most  numerous  are  Orbweavers,  many  species  of  which  I  have  col- 
lected from  mud  daubs. 

It  is,  however,  true  that  in  the  gatherings  of  any  individual  wasp  there 
is  apt  to  be  a  preponderance  of  a  single  species  of  spider.  Thus  it  would 
seem  that  a  wasp  starting  out  with  Epeira  strix,  for  example,  is  apt  to 
devote  herself  chiefly  to  collecting  that  particular  species.  So  with  other 
species.  Can  it  be  that  the  mode  of  capturing  her  first  victim,  itself  some- 
what a  matter  of  chance,  so  impresses  itself  upon  the  "  brain "  of  the  wasp 
that  she  almost  mechanically  drops  into  the  same  mode  for  subsequent 
capture,  and  thus  finds  herself  habitually  hunting  along  the  trail  of  the 
domicile  and  hiding  place  uncovered  in  her  first  capture  ? 

Next  to  Orbweavers,  Laterigrades  perhaps  have  been  oftenest  found 
by  me  in  mud  daubs.  The  species  most  frequently  seen  is  the  large  yel- 
low, white,  or  variegated  species,  Misumena  vatia,  which  lurks  for  its  prey 
on  flowers,  the  mimicry  of  whose  colors  (see  Chapter  XII.)  seems,  in  this 
case,  not  to  be  a  "  protective  "  resemblance.  Here  again,  where  this  spider 
is  found  it  usually  predominates,  as  though  the  wasp,  making  her  original 
capture  upon  the  habitual  feeding  grounds  of  the  species,  had  gained 
what  might  be  called  an  "  experience "  and  followed  in  the  lines  of  her 
first  finds. 

I  find  some  confirmation  of  my  own  impression  in  the  opinion  ex- 
pressed by  Mr.  John  Abbot,  who  observed  the  habits  of  American  spiders 
in  Georgia  as  early  as  1792.  He  says  that  wasps  generally  confine  their 
hawking  to  One  species,  when  in  search  of  spiders  with  which  to  store 
their  mud  daub  nests.  ^ 

If  we  now.  turn  from  the  more  arboreal  species  to  those  which  during 
the  day  will  be  found  chiefly  upon  their  webs,  we  shall  observe  a  strong 
tendency  in  the  same  general  line  of  habit.  That  vigorous  and  destructive 
Retitelarian,  Theridium  tepidariorum,  so  common  in  our  outhouses,  when 
found  within  a  mud  daub  will  be  the  prevailing  species.  Such  .Orbweavers 
as  Argiope  argyraspis,  Tetragnatha  extensa,  Epeira  labyrinthea,  or  Argy- 
roepeira  hortorum,  which  habitually  hang  upon  their  webs  and  must  be 
thence  seized  by  the  raiding  wasp,  I  have  found  subject  to  the  same  gen- 
eral tendency.  It  is  needless  further  to  multiply  examples.  I  disclaim 
the  purpose  of  indicating  here  an  inflexible  conclusion,  or  even  one  sus- 
tained by  satisfactory  evidence.  But  the  facts  which  have  fallen  under 
my  notice  do  justify  one,  if  not  in  inferring,  at  least  in  suggesting,  what 
future  observers  may  find  worthy  of  careful  study.  The  line  of  inquiry 
certainly  points  along  fields  full  of  interest. 

A  brief  reference  to  some  of  the  special  characteristics  of  a  few  of  the 
spider  species  preyed  upon  by  the  mud   dauber  wasps   will   give  a  better 

1  Walckenaer,  Hist.  Nat.  des  Insectes,  Apteres,  Vol.  I.,  page  174. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  387 


idea  of  the  skill  and   acumen  of  these   creatures   in  their  raids.     For  ex- 
ample, there  is  no  species  with   stronger  secretive  tendencies  than  Epeira 
strix.     Its  ordinary  hiding  place  in  a  rolled   leaf  is  so  carefully 
Charac-     selected   and   separated   from    its    snare    that    I    am    continually 

„  ^  thwarted  in  search  for  it.    Yet  the  mud  dauber  finds  it.    So  with 

of  Cap- 
tives ^^^  Laterigrade  spider  Misumena  vatia.  Its  mimicry  of  the  va- 
rious colors  of  the  particular  flowers  upon  which  it  lurks,  is  sur- 
prisingly exact,  although  for  the  most  part  it  affects  yellow  and  pinkish 
white  colors.  Yet  it  is  precisely  this  species  which  the  wasp,  in  her  in- 
dustrious quest  among  leaves  and  blossoms,  most  frequently  falls  upon. 
I  confess  myself  equally  puzzled  and  interested  at  the  facts  which  here 
present  themselves.  If  one  were  at  liberty  to  do  so,  he  might  fancy  that 
this  curious  hymenopter  feels  some  trace  of  that  noble  rage  which  inspires 
the  breast  of  the  huntsman,  and,  scorning  more  inglorious  game,  devotes 
herself  to  that  which  most  excites  her  enterprise  and  evokes  her  skill.  I 
have  admired  the  intensity  of  action  shown  by  the  blue  mud  dauber  when 
hunting  spiders  among  bushes.  It  fairly  jerks  itself  along  from  leaf  to 
leaf  and  from  stem  to  stem,  prying  under  every  corner  and  thrusting  its 
antennae  beneath  leaves,  peeking  into  every  cranny,  angle,  and  nook  where 
a  spider  could  possibly  be  reposing.  I  do  not  wonder,  after  watching  one 
of  these  creatures  stalking  its  prey,  that  even  the  most  secretive  of  our 
araneads  fails  to  escape  the  detective  skill  and  quenchless  ardor  of  the 
remorseless  insect. 

The  solitary  wasps,   diggers,  and   mud  daubers   are   not   the  only  ones 

whom   maternal   instinct   makes    hostile   to    spiders.      The   social   or   paper 

making  wasps   may  be   included   in   the   same   list.     The   digger 

°^^^  wasps  appear  to  feed  upon  vegetable  matter  exclusively,  although 
they  provide  animal  food  for  their  larvae.  It  is  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  the  development  of  such  a  habit  and  such  a  taste.  How  could 
the  insectivorous  habit  have  come  to  a  larva  by  heredity  from  a  nectar 
feeding  ancestry  ?  On  what  principle  can  one  explain  why  a  mother  with 
such  a  taste  should  provide  for  a  sarcophagous  offspring  ?  Evolutionism 
has  here  a  series  of  facts  that  lay  formidable  obstacles  in  its  path. 

If,  now,  we  could  show  in  the  digger  wasps  some  such  facts  as  appear 
in  the  life  of  the  social  wasps,  we  might,  perhaps,  escape  the  difficulty. 
These  insects  also  feed  upon  the  honey  and  pollen  of  flowers,  but  the 
opportunity  to  acquire  a  taste  for  animal  food  is  sufficient,  for  they  di- 
rectly feed  their  larva?  as  do  bees  and  ants,  not  leaving  them  to  serve 
themselves  as  do  the  young  of  the  mud  daubers.  That  food  consists 
chiefly  of  desiccated  insects,  but  spiders  contribute  a  portion  to  the  larval 
bill  of  fare.  The  assaults  of  hornets  upon  the  flies  swarming  in  country 
kitchens  are  well  known  to  American  housewives;  the  webs  of  spiders 
are  raided  for  the  same  purpose.  These  captives  are  chewed  into  juicy 
pulp  and  fed  by  mouth  to  the  white  worms  that  occupy  the  regular  cells 


388  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  the  beautiful  paper  nest.  Now,  in  the  act  of  reducing  spider  flesh  to 
pulp  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  a  taste  for  such  food  might  be  ac- 
quired (and,  perhaps,  it  is  even  gratified)  in  sufficient  strength  to  lay 
the  foundation,  at  least,  for  an  insectivorous  habit  in  the  progeny. 

But  our  mud  dauber  does  not  feed  her  own  larvae  at  all ;  the  far  away 
originals  of  her  species  could  have  had  no  reasonable  origin  for  a  faintest 
suggestion  of  arachnophagous  necessity  in  her  progeny,  and  how  then  did 
she  begin  her  persistent  harvesting  of  spiders?  It  is,  perhaps,  possible 
to  conceive  that  it  may  have  come  by  the  long,  roundabout  way  of  an 
insect  chewdng  hornet  or  rust  red  wasp,  but  whether  it  is  worth  while  to 
go  so  far  to  get  so  little,  the  advocates  of  the  development  theory  must 
consider.  The  point  in  which  the  author  is  here  specially  interested  is 
that  the  social  wasps  also  are  to  be  ranked  with  the  enemies  of  spiders. 

V. 

It  has   been   stated    that  all    spiders   are   addicted    to   cannibalism,    no 

species   scrupling  to  prey  upon  individuals   of   its   own  order.     As  a  rule, 

however,   every   species  takes  aranead   prey,   as    it  does    insects, 

'KT|-*qT4'   "Pot*-  ,  _ 

after  its  own  characteristic  modes.  But  the  habit  of  cannibal- 
asitism.      .  .„         .        .       ,  „  ,  . 

ism  has  a  peculiar  manirestation  m  the  case  oi  several   species 

belonging  to  the  Retitelarise.  One  of  these  is  a  beautiful  California  spi- 
der, first  sent  to  me  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Orcutt,  which  is  conspicuous  by  bright 
metallic  silver  markings  upon  a  black  triangular  body.  It  is  a  small 
creature,  but  is  evidently  possessed  of  unusual  cunning  and  ferocity.  My 
knowledge  of  its  habits  is  received  from  Mrs.  Eigenmann,  who  forwarded 
to  me  living  examples  of  both  sexes.  I  have  named  the  species  (in  lit- 
teris)  Argyrodes  piraticum.^  The  spiders  were  established  on  what  seemed 
to  be  foundation  lines  of  their  own,  which  were  attached  to  the  broad 
foundation  lines  of  a  large  orbweb  of  a  species  of  Epeira.  In  one  case 
an  Argyrodes  was  found  in  the  act  of  preying  upon  a  large  Orbweaver 
which  she  had  encased  within  a   silken  enswathment  and   trussed   up   oh 

its  own  web.  It  seemed  remarkable  to  the  observer  that  the 
^®  little  silvery  spider  could  slay  and  eat  a  creature  so  much  larger 

Snid  than  itself,  and,  indeed,  nothing  short  of  actual  observation  would 

justify  belief.  My  informant  has  found  this  pirate  spider  upon 
the  snares  of  Gasteracantha,  Argiope  argenteola,  and  Zilla  x-notata,  as 
well  as  upon  orbs  of  various  species  of  Epeira.  It  takes  its  station  quite 
habitually  upon  the  outskirts  of  the  snares  of  these  Orb  weavers,  from 
which  point  it  makes  its  raid  upon  the  lawful  owner  of  the  web,  and 
perhaps,  also,  as  Mrs.  Eigenmann  thinks,  feeds  upon  the  excess  of  insects 
which  may  often  be  found  adhering  in  considerable  numbers  to  the  viscid 
portions  of  the  orb. 

^  It  has  probably  been  described,  but  I  cannot  identify  it. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIK   INFLUENCE.  389 


This  genus  is  represented  by  a  species,  Argyrodes  trigonum,^  common  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia  and  throughout  the  Eastern  States.     It 

makes  the  usual  nest  of  crossed  and  netted  lines  common  to  its 
■^SV-        tribe,  but  is  also  parasitic  in  its  nesting  habits,  for  I  have  found 

it   on    the    retitelarian    section    of    the    Labyrinth    spider's   web, 

where  it  had  made  itself  very  much  at  home.  I  have  also  found 
it  upon  the  webs  of  other  species,  as  Linyphia  communis  and  a  small  The- 
ridium,  and  the  upper  intersecting  supports  and  lines  of  Agalena  naevia. 
Mr.  Emerton^  has  observed  the  same  tendency  to  nest  parasitism,  having 
found  Trigonum  in  the  upper  part  of  the  web  of  Linyphia  scripta  and 
also  among  the  upper  cross  threads  of  Agalena  nsevia.  There  is  no  record, 
however,  as  far  as  I  know,  of  this  species  actually  preying  upon  its  hosts, 
and  the  creature  must  be  endowed  with  unusual  cunning  if  it  really  suc- 
ceeds in  doing  so. 

The  most  decided  example  of  this  particular  habit  is  found  in  a  Line- 
weaving  spider  described  by  Professor  Hentz  as  Mimetus  interfector.     Hentz 

found  the  species  in  Alabama ;  I  have  found  it  in  Pennsylvania, 
Mimetus  qj^jq^  jv[g^  York,  and  elsewhere ;  and  Emerton  has  collected  it  in 
f  cto  Massachusetts   and    Connecticut.  ^     According   to    Mr.  Simon   the 

species  also  occurs  in  southern  Europe.*  Hentz  says  that  Inter- 
fector spins  a  web  resembling  that  of  Theridium,  but  prefers  prowling  in 
the  dark  and  taking  possession  of  the  snares  of  Epeira  and  Theridium  after 
murdering  the  proprietor. 

This  singular  depredator  is  not  rare,  and  was  usually  found  by  its  dis- 
coverer in  houses,  which  enabled  him  to  itiake  many  observations  upon 
its  manners.  The  first  specimen  observed  was  a  female,  which  had  made 
two  cocoons  under  a  table  in  his  study,  near  and  among  the  webs  of  sev- 
eral individuals  of  Theridium  tepidariorum.  The  cocoon  of  Mimetus  is 
oblong,  and  tapers  equally  at  both  ends,  which  are  secured  by  many 
threads  connected  with  a  retitelarian  web.  The  mother  was  watching  the 
young,  which  were  issuing  from  the  lower  one  of  her  two  cocoons.  Thus 
she  appears  to  possess  in  a  strong  degree  that  maternal  solicitude  which 
marks  so  many  of  her  order. 

A  second  observation  discovered  a  very  different  state  of  feeling  as  to 
the  young  of  other   species,  for    she  was  observed   devouring  the   eggs  of 

Theridium  tepidariorum,  most  probably  after  having  eaten  the 
„     ^  ^^   mother.     A  third  specimen  was  found  dead  in  the  web  of  some 

species  of  Theridium,  which  no  doubt  had  killed  it,  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  fact  that  sometimes  in  her  predatory  expeditions  she  man- 
ages, like  human  robbers,  to  "catch  a  Tartar."     A  fourth   Interfector  was 

^  Argyrodes  argyrodes  Wick. 

^  Notes  in  Hentz's  Spiders  U.  S.,  page  153. 

*  New  England  Spiders,  Family  Therididee,  page  17. 

*  Arachnides  de  France,  Vol.  V.,  page  29. 


390  AMERICAN  SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


found  eating  the  same  Theridium  that  had  devoured  her  predecessor. 
Such  observations  indicate  a  marked  hostility  existing  between  these  two 
powerful  examples  of  their  family — a  sort  of  aranead  feud. 

Professor  Hentz  sometimes  enclosed  specimens  of  these  spider  eaters 
with  other  araneads  in  a  glass  jar,  in  order  to  watch  their  motions.  The 
moment  another  spider  was  thrown  in,  Interfector  showed  by  its 
^■^^  f'^  attitude  that  it  was  conscious  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy.  For 
a  moment  it  moved  its  first  and  second  pairs  of  legs  up  and 
down,  and  then  slowly  approached  its  victim,  and  generally  killed  it.  A 
Theridium  tepidariorum  thrown  into  the  jar  manifested  great  terror,  but 
in  a  little  while,  or,  as  Professor  Hentz  puts  it,  "after  some  seeming  reflec- 
tions upon  fortitude  and  necessity,"  it  prepared  for  the  mortal  combat,  and 
cautiously  advanced  towards  the  Mimetus,  which  began  to  move  more 
slowly.  Theridium,  when  near  her  adversary,  threw  out  a  long  thread  on 
which  were  several  globules  of  transparent  fluid.  This  partially  succeeded, 
for  Mimetus  was  caught  by  one  leg,  and  while  Theridium  retreated  for  ob- 
servation it  was  dragged  about  for  a  long  time  before  it  succeeded  in  free- 
ing itself.  The  battle  presently  was  renewed,  and  this  time  Theridium  was 
conquered  and  eaten.  ^ 

From  these  interesting  observations  it  appears  that  this  formidable  spe- 
cies of  Theridium  is  a  favorite  object  of  attack  with  Mimetus.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  powerful  and  ferocious  of  its  kind,  being  able  to  overcome  and 
destroy  the  largest  insects,  and,  as  we  have  shown  (Vol.  I.,  Chapter  XIII.), 
even  to  entrap  and  destroy  a  small  snake  and  a  half  grown  mouse.  The 
courage,  ferocity,  and  combative  skill  of  the  adversary  which  is  able  suc- 
cessfully to  meet  and  vanquish  it  are  thus  at  once  manifest.  I  have 
found  Mimetus  interfector  parasitic  upon  the  snares  of  other  spiders  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  but  have  never  witnessed  an  actual  at- 
tack by  her.  On  one  occasion  I  found  her  ensconced  upon  the  snare  of 
an  Orbweaver,  having  evidently  destroyed  the  occupant. 

Mimetus  syllepsicus,  according  to  Hentz,  ^  has  the  same  piratical  habit 
as  her  congener  Interfector.  This  spider  was  found  in  the  tent  of  Epeira 
labyrinthea,  which  it  had  no  doubt  killed.  The  webs  and  cocoons  of  its 
victim  were  untouched,  and  the  squatter  seemed  perfectly  at  home  in  its 
new  domicile.  It  strikes  one  as  a  remarkable  development  of  instinct 
which  has  formed  within  a  tribe  and  families  having  fixed  sedentary 
habits  a  disposition  to  leave  the  snare  and  go,  like  the  Wandering  groups, 
to  seek  prey,  and  especially  to  raid  the  nests  of  fellow  araneads  therefor. 
But  it  may  be  noted  that  the  piratical  destroyer  confines  its  raids 
th^^Vt  ^^  species  whose  nesting  habits,  in  whole  or  in  part,  are  sim- 
ilar to  its  own.  That  is  to  say,  Mimetus  finds  its  best  pre- 
serves and  hunting  grounds  upon  the  netted  cross  lines  of  Theridium  and 

1  Spiders  of  the  U.  S.,  page  138.  ^  Spid.  U.  S.,  page  140. 


ENEMIES  AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  391 


Agalena  and  the  mazy  annex  of  Labyrinthea,  or  the  foundation  lines  of 
Orbweavers,  which  somewhat  resemble  her  own  retitelarian  forms.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  Argyrodes  piraticum.  It  is  found  upon  the  com- 
pound snare  of  Zilla,  which  combines  the  orbweb  with  the  retitelarian, 
and  stations  itself  for  its  piratical  raids  upon  the  netted  outlying  and 
foundation  lines  of  other  Orbweavers.  The  same  observation  holds  good 
as  to  Argyrodes  trigonum,  as  far  as  its  nesting  parasitism  is  concerned, 
for  she  finds  congenial  raiding  grounds  within  the  netted  lines  that  over- 
hang the  funneled  sheet  of  Agalena  and  the  orb  of  Labyrinthea.  Un- 
doubtedly she  feels  more  courage,  confidence,  and  vigor  within  an  environ- 
ment which  gives  her  the  sense  of  being  upon  her  native  snare. 

It  is  possible  for  us  to  conceive  that  the  habit  may  have  originated 
from  the  facility  thus  presented  for  obtaining  a  foothold  and  home  upon 
the  webs  of  its  neighbors.  Having  done  this,  it  only  needed  a  favoring 
opportunity,  many  of  which  must  have  presented,  to  throw  the  host  of 
the  web  into  the  power  of  its  guest.  An  act  so  advantageous  would  be 
likely  to  be  repeated  and  persisted  in ;  we  have  thus  an  easy  way  to  the 
development  of  a  fixed  habit  from  what  at  first  may  have  been  an  acci- 
dental feature  in  the  life  of  ancestors.  Even  if  this  conjecture  should  be 
adjudged  plausible,  I  cannot  free  myself  from  the  wonder  that  so  mani- 
festly convenient  a  mode  of  securing  food  should  have  been  fixed  upon  by 
so  few  of  all  the  numerous  species  and  innumerable  individuals  of  the 
great  Retitelarian  tribe. 

VI. 

We  pass  now  to   note  the   parasitic  enemies  of  Orbweavers  and  others 

of   their   order.     Mr.    Blackwall   has   shown   that   immature   spiders,  Epei- 

roids  and  others,  are  infested  by  the  larvae  of  Polysphincta  car- 

_.°  .,  bonaria,  a  hymenopterous  insect  belonging  to  the  Ichneumonidae. 
Parasites,  rn,  .  .       .       ,  ,     ,  ,  <■    i        i  i 

ihis  parasite  is  always  attached  to  the  upper  part  of  the  abdo- 
men, near  its  union  with  the  cephalothorax,  and,  although  it  proves  a 
source  of  constant  irritation,  is  secured  by  its  position  from  every  attempt 
of  the  spider  to  displace  it.  Being  without  feet,  it  appears  to  retain  its 
hold  upon  its  victim  solely  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  mouth  and  a 
viscid  secretion  emitted  from  its  caudal  extremity.  But  one  larva  has  ever 
been  seen  upon  a  single  spider. 

The  ichneumon  probably  deposits  its  eggs  on  the  spiders  in  the  au- 
tumn, attaching  one  egg  to  each  individual.  In  the  spring,  towards  the 
end  of  May,  having  gone  through  its  final  moult  and  increased  consider- 
ably in  size,  the  larva  becomes  restless  and  rapidly  destroys  the  spider, 
which  it  abandons  after  having  reduced  it  to  a  mere  corrugated  skin.  It 
then  attaches  itself  to  some  convenient  point,  the  cork  of  a  bottle  if  it  be 
in  confinement,  and  begins  to  spin  its  cocoon,  which  it  completes  in  a  day 
or  two.     This  cocoon  is  of  yellowish  white  silk  of  compact  texture,  and 


392  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

measures  one-third  of  an  inch  in  length  and  one-tenth  in  diameter.  It 
is  of  an  oblong  quadrilateral  figure  tapering  to  its  extremities,  one  of 
which  is  more  pointed  than  the  other.  It  is  lashed  to  its  site  by  numer- 
ous fine  silken  lines.  In  about  one  month  the  perfect  insect  appears. 
Blackwall  found  this  parasite  on  four  species  of  Epeira  and  two  of  Liny- 
phia.^  The  same  author  figures  Hermeteles  fasciatus  and  H.  formosus, 
ichneumon  parasites  on  Agalena  brunnea.^ 

A  correspondent  of  "Science  Gossip"  gives  an  interesting  note  with  draw- 
ings of  an  ichneumon  wasp  larva  that  preys  upon  a  small  spider  in  Cey- 
lon, India.  The  spider  usually  attacked  is  a  small  black  ani- 
p  .,  mal,  with  globose  abdomen,  that  spins  a  loose  irregular  web  on 
the  under  surface  of  leaves.  The  ichneumon  wasp  appears  to 
oviposit  upon  female  spiders  only,  the  males  being  much  smaller  and 
unable  to  support  the  wasp  grub.  The  egg  is  fixed  to  the  abdomen  of  the 
spider  close  to  its  junction  with  the  cephalothorax.  The  newly  hatched 
larva  immediately  pierces  the  skin,  and  commences  to  absorb  the  juices 
of  its  host.  The  spider  continues  to  feed,  and  re- 
mains apparently  in  good  health  until  the  parasite 
is  full  grown,  when  the  latter  destroys  its  victim, 
leaving  nothing  but  the  empty  skin.  The  larva  then 
commences  to  spin  a  flask  shaped  silken  cocoon,  at- 
tached generally  to  the  under  side  of  a  cinchona 
leaf.  It  builds  up  the  cocoon  gradually,  complet- 
FiG.  327.  Parasitic  larva  on      jj^g   ^j^g   walls   as   it    procccds,   forming    first    a    cup 

the  body  of  an  India  spider.  ^  r  j  n>  x 

shaped  receptacle,  which  is  lengthened  by  regular 
additions  to  the  open  edge,  and  finally  closed.  A  specimen  under  observa- 
tion completed  its  work  in  forty-eight  hours.  ^ 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  to  which  Blackwall  has  called  attention,*  that 
immature  spiders  infested  by  the  larva  of  Polysphincta  carbonaria  do  not 
change  their  skins.  In  what  way  the  parasite  can  afPect  the  animal  thus 
to  cause  a  suspension  of  so  ordinary  a  function  is  not  known,  but  the 
economy  of  the  fact  is  apparent.  If  the  moulting  were  to  proceed,  the 
parasitic  larva  would  probably  be  cast  off  with  the  skin  and  would  inevi- 
tably perish,  thus  causing  a  failure  of  its  manifest  end  in  Nature,  which  is 
to  conserve  the  life  of  its  kind  both  directly  and  indirectly — directly  by 
feeding  upon  the  body  of  the  spider,  and  indirectly  by  checking  the  undue 
increase  of  that  deadly  enemy  of  insect  tribes. 

Spiders  are  also  attacked  by  parasites  within  the  body.  A  full  grown 
specimen  of  Epeira  cinerea,^  sent  me  by  Mrs.  Treat,  had  been  dropped  into 
alcohol   to   kill   it.     Immediately  there  issued  from   the   abdomen  a   white 

1  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat,  Hist.,  Vol,  XI.,  1843,  pages  1  and  2,  and  Spiders  Gt.  Br.  &  Ir., 
page  352.  2  Spiders  Gt.  Br.  &  Jr.,  pi,  xii.,  A  A,  B  B. 

3  E.  Ernest  Green,  Science  Gossip,  July,  1888,  pages  159,  160. 
*  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  Vol.  XI.,  1843,  page  4.  ^  Epeira  cavatica  Keys. 


ENEMIES    AND   THEIR    INFLUENCE.  393 


ichneumonid  larva  one-half  inch  long.     The  spirit  bath  had  evidently  dis- 
turbed the   creature  when  near  the  period  of  emerging,  and  being  affected 

by  it,  it  at  once  cut  a  way  through  the  skin  of  its  host,  and 
Parasites  wriggled  out  of  the  body  into  the  alcohol,  where,  of  course,  it  was 
th    B  d     destroyed.      The  site  of    this  larva    upon   its   host   corresponded 

closely  with  that  of  the  parasitic  guest  described  by  Black  wall, 
on  the  upper  part  of  the  abdomen.  In  size  the  two  larvae  are  nearly  equal, 
and  they  probably  belong  to  at  least  the  same  genus. 

Menge   has   added  to  our   knowledge  of   the   parasites   infesting  spiders, 
and   I   present   a   brief  abstract   of  his  observations.  ^     Micriphantes,    The- 

ridium,   Bolyphantes,    and   other   species  found   crawling   on   the 

_^      ^..       ground  are  infested  with  a  cinnabar  red  species  of  Dermanvssa. 
Parasites.  ^  ,  i  j 

But  one  of  these  is  usually  found  on  an  individual,  seldom  two, 
and  hardly  ever  three.  It  is  fatal  to  the  smaller  varieties  alone,  and  only 
infests  the  larger  varieties  while  young.  He  found  Mermis  allicans  on  a 
Water  spider  (Argyroneta  aquatica),  and  saw  it  escape  from  the  body  and 
tumble  about  in  the  water.  During  the  latter  part  of  June  he  took  a  fe- 
male of  Clubiona  putris  within  its  little  silken  sac  on  a  stem,  of  heath,  and 
confined  it  for  observation.  A  week  thereafter  it  had  disappeared,  while 
within  the  sac,  on  a  few  horizontal  threads  suspended  in  the  centre,  lay 
a  yellowish  white  pupa  about  five  millimetres  long,  which  had  eaten  the 
spider  except  the  legs  and  a  small  part  of  the  skin.  In  another  week  a 
winged  insect,  probably  Henops  marginatus  or  Oncodes  pallipes,  emerged 
from  the  pupa.  During  the  brief  adult  life  of  this  insect  it  takes  no 
nourishment,  "but  soon  finds  its  mate  and  deposits  its  eggs  upon  the  spider. 
Immediately  after  hatching,  the  maggot  makes  its  way  into  its  host's  body, 
probably  through  the  rima  prudendi. 

The  same  author  describes  two   other   parasitic   larvae  which  he  failed 

to  bring  to  maturity,  but  which  probably  also  belong  to  the  Hymenoptera. 

The  first  was  found  August  27th,  upon  the  posterior  part  of  a 

_  full    grown    female   Arctosa    cinerea,    taken   in   the    sand    under 

Larvae.  ^ 

fallen  leaves;  it  was  naked,  reddish  white,  without  feet,  two  mil- 
limetres long.  It  astonished  the  observer  to  note  that  the  large  spider  re- 
mained perfectly  quiet  while  the  larva  nibbled  its  way  into  the  body, 
when  a  movement  with  the  legs  would  have  removed  it.  On  the  second 
day  the  spider  was  quite  dead,  and  the  larva  was  then  four  millimetres 
long.  Eight  days  thereafter  the  larva  had  devoured  the  entire  abdomen, 
the  inner  cephalothorax,  and  the  thigh  of  one  hind  leg  ;  it  had  increased 
about  one-half  in  size,  had  satisfied  its  hunger,  but  was  very  uneasy.  It 
was  placed  in  sand  to  mature,  and  there  overspun  itself,  but  never  further 
developed. 

Another  larva  was  found,  July  28th,  on  an  immature  male  of  Miranda 

^  Menge,  Preussische  Spinnen,  under  Parasites  of  the  Spider. 


394  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

adianta,  a  species  of  Orbweaver.  The  parasite  was  two  millimetres  long, 
a  yellowish  green  color,  and  smooth,  except  slight  warts  upon  the  back. 
At  first  the  spider  seemed  to  feel  little  inconvenience  from  its  guest,  but 
on  the  fourth  day  it  sat  motionless,  and  on  the  fifth  it  had  been  de- 
voured, only  a  small  bit  of  skin  remaining,  while  the  caterpillar  lay 
curled  up  in  a  half  circle,  grown  to  twelve  millimetres  in  length  and  two 
millimetres  in  width  across  the  middle  of  the  body.  Subsequently  it  made 
a  cocoon  on  the  heath,  but  developed  no  further.  None  of  the  above 
larvae  moulted,  which,  according  to  Menge,  is  characteristic  of  parasites 
within  the  body,  a  habit  that  shows  quite  as  striking  adaptation  as  does 
freedom  from  moulting  in  an  infested  spider. 

One   of  the    most  common   superstitions    heard    among    persons    unin- 
formed in  natural  history,  is  that  a  horse  hair,  when  placed  in  the  water 
under  certain  conditions,  will  turn  into  a  snake.     I  have  heard 
this  fact  averred  by  eye  witnesses,  who  believed  confidently  that 
they  had  seen  the  hair  suddenly  come  to  life  and  wiggle  off  through  the 
water.     This  astonishing  statement  is  explained  by  that 
most  interesting  and   least   enjoyable  of  natural  facts, 
parasitism.       Crickets,    grasshoppers,    and    spiders    are 
known   to   be   the   hosts   of  a   species   of   our  common 
Gordius,  the   same   probably  as   that  described  a  num- 
ber of  years  ago  by   Prof.   Joseph   Leidy   as    Gordius 

Pig.  328.  Fig.  329.  .      "^  .  .  . 

Parasitic  Gordius  (Fig. 328)     aquaticus.^     From   this   eminent   naturalist   I   have   re- 
infesting  Lycosa  scutu-    ceived  a  specimen  of  Lycosa  scutulata,  from  which  a 
Gordius  was  taken.     I  have  figured  the  spider  just  as 
I  received   it,  it   being   very   much   damaged  when  it  came   to   my  hand ; 
the  parasite  is  also  drawn,  both  figures  natural  size.     (Figs.  328  and  329.) 

VII. 

We   have   thus    far   considered    the   foes   which   assail    the   life   of   the 

spider  after  it  has  escaped  from  the  cocoon.     This  does  not  complete   the 

doleful  record.     Her  cradle  life  is  beset  by  even  more  formida- 

p,  ble  perils.     The  maternal  instinct  which,  in  the  spider   mother, 

prompts  to  cunning  protection  of  her  eggs  in  admirably  wrought 
cocoons,  inspires  the  Ichneumon  fly  to  penetrate  the  silken  bars  and  wards, 
and  place  the  eggs  of  her  parasitic  young  upon  the  spider's  eggs.  Our 
knowledge  of  the  parasitic  Hymenoptera  preying  upon  cocoons  of  spiders 
has  yet  to  be  much  enlarged,  but  we  know  that  the  genus  Pezomachus  is 
one  of  the  most  persistent  guests,  and  that  she  carries  vast  ravages  into 
the  aranead  ranks.  A  few  notes  will  be  given,  culled  from  many  observa- 
tions upon  the  destructive  habits  of  this  genus. 

1  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  1850-51,  page  98. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE. 


395 


The  outer  case  of  a  cocoon  of  Argiope  cophinaria  was  taken  at  Atlantic 

City  during  winter   (1883),  and   opened  June  6tli  following.     It  was  then 

pierced   with   several  round   holes.     The  lower   part  of  the  flask 

Double      ^y^g  occupied   by   a  number   of  white  cocoons  of  a  parasitic  hy- 

menopterous  insect.     They   were  each   three-eighths  of  an   inch 

long,    were  grouped    in   a   bowl   shaped   mass   quite   around  the 

bottom  of  the  egg  sac,  and  were  covered  with  a  delicate  white  silken  floss. 

Many  of   them   were  pierced   at  one  end  with  a  hole  corresponding  with 

the   one   on   the   outside  of   the  spider's  cocoon.     (Fig.  330.)     From  these 

holes  the  insects,  probably  a  species  of  Pezomachus,  had  made  their  escape, 

leaving  their  mahogany  colored  shells  within  their  white  pupa  cases.     Some 

of   the  Ichneumonid   cocoons  were  without  the   single   large  opening,  but 

had    minute    punctures    not    much    larger 

than  pin  holes.     These  were  doubtless  the 

exit  holes  of  a  species  of  Chalcidian.^ 

Thus  the  larvae  of  the  parasitic  Ich- 
neumons were  themselves  preyed  upon  by 
a  parasite.  However,  in  each  case  some 
individuals  of  the  original  host  escaped  the 
parasitic  destroyer.  The  Chalcidians  did 
not  destroy  all  the  Ichneumons,  as  the  exit 
holes  attested ;  and,  notwithstanding  the 
entire  lower  part  of  the  spider's  egg  sac 
was  occupied  by  the  hymenopterous  en- 
campment, whose  white  tents  pushed  up 
against  the  brown  wadding  spun  by  the 
mother  spider,  a  large  number  of  young 
spiderlings  occupied  the  field.  They  were 
active  and  apparently  healthy,  scrambling 
among  the  woolly  fibres  of  their  home 
quite  down  to  the  cocoons  of  their  invaders. 
Whatever  ravages  the  Ichneumons  may  have  made  among  the  spiderlings, 
there  were  certainly  enough  of  them  still  left.  I  have  found  other  cocoons 
of  Cophinaria  similarly  occupied  with  some  of  the  perfect  Chalcids  entan- 
gled in  the  spider  silk. 

These  are  not  the  only  examples  of  peaceful  occupation  of  a  cocoon 
by  the  Orbweaver's  young  along  with  various  "  squatter  sovereigns "  of  the 
parasitic  tribes.  I  received  from  Mrs.  Eigenmann,  San  Fran- 
cisco (August,  1883),  a  specimen  of  Epeira  accompanied  by  what 
was  supposed  to  be,  and  probably  is,  the  cocoon.  The  adult 
spider,  a  female,  is  black,  with  faint  dorsal  foliated  marks,  and 
the  young  are  beautifully  marked  with  black  and  white.     A  large  number 


Fig.  330.  Cocoon  of  Argiope  cophinaria, 
opened  to  show  the  pupa  cases  of  a  brood 
of  parasitic  Ichneumon  flies. 


Treble 
Parasit- 
ism. 


^  Prof.  Wilder   has   observed  the   same   fact.     Proceedings  American  Association   Adv. 
Science,  1873,  page  258. 


y 


396  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  these  were  alive  within  the  cocoon,  a  flossy  ball  of  blackish  colored 
silk  different  from  any  I  have  ever  seen.  In  the  centre  was  a  small  agglu- 
tinated mass  of  white  parasitic  cells,  similar  to  those  above  described,  to 
which  a  number  of  infertile  spider  eggs  still  clung.  These  cells  were 
probably  those  of  an  Ichneumon,  Pezomachus  dimidiatus  Cresson  (Plate  V., 
Fig.  5,  female,  X  4),  an  example  of  which  was  found,  dead,  clinging  to  the 
padding  of  the  spider's  egg  sac.  They  had  evidently  burrowed  within 
the  mass  of  Epeiroid  eggs,  destroying  a  number  but  leaving  still  many 
to  hatch  out.  Within  these  parasitic  cocoons,  which  were  all  empty  of 
their  original  occupants,  were  several  Dermestid  larvae  of  various  sizes. 
They  were  in  an  intense  state  of  activity,  but  I  did  not  observe  that  they 
preyed   upon   the   living   spiders.      Besides  these   I   found  in  the  box  two 

specimens  of  a  minute  Chalcidian,  and 
several  living  specimens  of  a  small  spe- 
cies of  ant,  apparently  an  undescribed 
Solenopsis.  Thus  this  family  consisted 
of  the  original  spider  hosts,  their  proper 
Fig.  331.  Fig.  332.  parasitic    guests   Pezomachus,   the    para-- 

Fig.  331.    Cocoons  of  Pezomachus  gracilis  in  a       sitc's     parasitC    ChalcidiaU,     thc     UuivCrSal 
Laterigrade  spider's  cocoon.        Fig.  332.    Spi-       j.  j.ita  i-ii  iiij 

der  cocoons;  one  healthy,  one  infested.  dcstroycr  the  Dcrmcstid  larvse,  and  that 

inquisitive  interloper  the  ant.    It  has  not 

been  my  fortune  to  see  a  more  miscellaneous  natural  combination  than  this. 

Pezomachus  does  not  limit  herself  to  any  single  group  of  spiders,  but 

apparently  preys  upon  all.     I  succeeded  in  hatching  several,  both  male  and 

female,  of  Pezomachus  gracilis  Cresson  (Plate  V.,  Fig.  6,  female, 

ezo-  ^  4^  from  cocoons  of  a  Laterigrade  spider.     Two  cocoons  found 

gracilis      ^^^  '^^  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  attached  to  the  inner  side  of  the 

bark  of  a  tree,  were  joined  together  as  at  Fig.  332.     One  of  these 

was  completely  occupied  by  Ichneumon  cocoons.     The  spider's  cocoons  are 

made  of  very  stiff  silk,  and    are   covered  more  or  less  thickly  with  minute 

daubs   of    mud.     Through    this  covering   Pezomachus  had    penetrated   and 

lodged    her   eggs    upon   the   spider   eggs   within.     In    due   time   they  were 

hatched,   devoured    the   eggs,  the  shells  of  which  were  wdthin.     Five  pupa 

cases  of  the  parasite  occupied   the   interior.     (Fig.  331.)     In   the  adjoining 

cocoon  were  healthy  young  spiderlings  and  a  few  eggs. 

The  cocoon  of  Epeira  apoclisa  of  England  is  spun  of  yellowish  silk,  of 
a  loose  texture,  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  contains  about  two 
hundred  and  twenty  spherical  eggs.  From  this  cocoon,  on  the 
Parasites  ^^^  ^^  ^^l->  Blackwall  took  both  sexes  of  a  small  Ichneumon 
fly,  the  female  of  which  is  apterous,  and  on  another  occasion 
he  obtained  specimens  of  the  same  insect  from  the  cocoon  of  Epeira  um- 
bratica.  ^ 


1  Spiders  Gt.  Br.  &  Ir.,  page  327. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE. 


397 


Fig.  333. 


Fig.  334. 


Fig.  333.  Magnified  cell  of  parasitic  hymenopter,  probably  Aco- 
loides  saitidis.  Fig.  334.  Saltigrade  cocoon,  with  parasitic 
cells  enclosed,  somewhat  niagrnified.  The  fly  on  the  edge  is 
about  natural  size. 


October,  1884,  Mr.  F.  M.  Webster  sent  me  froin  Oxford,  Indiana,  a 
parasitized  cocoon,  evidently  of  some  Saltigrade  species,  which  appeared  to 
be  that  of  Phidippus  morsitans.  The  cocoon  contained  within  the  outer 
flossy  case  about  eighty  cells  or  pupa  cases  and  a  num- 
ber of  mature  black  hymenopterous  insects  about  one- 
eighth  inch  long.  (Fig.  334.)  The  cells  were  ovoid, 
gray,  blackish  at  the  closed 
end,  probably  from  excre- 
tions from  the  enclosed  lar- 
vae. One  end  was  cut  open, 
showing  where  the  insects 
had  escaped.  (Fig.  333.) 
With  the  exception  of  a  few 
hard,  dry,  yellowish  brown 
examples,  all  the  eggs  of 
the  spiders  had  disappeared. 
The  specimens  were  sent  to  Mr.  L.  O.  Howard,^  who  thought  them  to  be 
Proctotrupids,  belonging  to  the  subfamily  Scelioninse,  and  seeming  to  form 
an  entirely  new  genus.  ^ 

This  gentleman  has  lately  published  -^  a  description  of  a  hymenopterous 
parasite  on  spiders  sent  to  him  by  Mr.   L.   Bruner,  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska, 
which  was  collected  from  the  eggs  of  a  Saltigrade,  Saitis  pulex. 
^  }'         The  eggs  of  this  spider  are  a  little  more  than  a  millimetre  in 
Guests       circumference,   and   each    egg    harbors   but   one    parasite,   which 
issues  by  splitting  the  egg  case  open,  rather  than  by  gnawing  a 
hole.     This  insect  belongs  to  the  same  family  and  subfamily  and  is  prob- 
ably the  same  species  as  that  col- 
lected  by  Mr.  Webster.     Mr.  How- 
ard has  named  it  Acoloides  saitidis, 
and  a  copy  of    the  drawing  of  the 
insect  is  given  at  Fig.  335.     In  the 
same    connection    Mr.    Howard    de- 
scribes,  under    the  name  of   Bseus 
americanus,    a    new   species,   a    mi- 
nute wingless  Scelioninse,  from  spec- 
imens  sent  him   ten  years  ago  by 

americanus.    (After  Howard.)    Natural  sizes  shown       Dr.    MarX,    wllO    appears    lo    haVC   re- 
in the  circles.  •       j       -i  /•  /^    i       tvt-    i      i 

ceived  them  from  Col.  Nicholas 
Pike,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York.  They  are  labeled :  "  Parasites  in  spider's 
eggs  in  an  orange  cocoon."  Dr.  Marx,  after  examining  the  eggs,  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  host  from  which  these  little  parasites  were  established 


Fig.  335.  Pig.  336. 

Fig.  335.    Acoloides  saitidis,  a  hymenopterous  parasite 
on    the    Saltigrade,    Saitis    pulex.        Fig.  336.    Bseus 


^  Bureau  of  Entomology,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 
^  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Philadelphia,  1884,  page  294. 
«  "  Insect  Life,"  Vol.  II.,  No.  9,  1890,  page  269. 


398 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK, 


belonged  to  the  Orb  weavers.     (See  Fig.  336.)     The  natural  size  of  the  insect 

is  given  within  the  circle  at  the  side  of  the  drawing.     The  insect  may  not 

have   been   directly   parasitic   on   the   spider's    eggs,    but  on   the   larvae    of 

Pezomachus  or  some  other  spider  parasite. 

The  above  examples  are  sufficiently  representative,  and  they  indicate  the 

mode  in  which  the  Hymenoptera  wage  war  upon  the  Aranese.     As  to  the 

extent  of  that  war  I  may  simply  say  that  I  find  a   large  propor- 

Extent       i^JQjj  q£   Epeiroid  cocoons  infested  by  parasites.     In  going  among 

...  the  old  cocoons  in  the  spring  it  is  often  more  usual  to  find  them 

asitism.  1       fe 

occupied  by  cocoons  of  Pezomachus  than  full  of  healthy  eggs. 
Of  five  large  egg  nests  of  Epeira  cinerea  now  before  me,  not  one  is  free 
from  parasitic  cocoons.  Often  the  spider  brood  will  be  in  part  preserved; 
frequently  the  parasites  have  full  possession ;  and,  again,  the  traces  of 
a  full  and  healthy  brood   are  shown   by  the   shells   or   first  moults  within 

the  central  bag.  Of  course  the  ratio 
of  destruction  varies  at  different  times 
and  places. 

There  appears  to  be  no  special 
proclivity  on  the  part  of  parasitic  hy- 
menopters  to  confine  their  operations 
to  any  species  of  spider.  They  appear 
to  choose  their  host  indiscriminately 
from  among  the  cocoons  in  which  the 
eggs  are  swathed.  Pezomachus  gra- 
cilis will  attack  the  hard,  stiff,  and 
compact  cocoon  case  of  Argiope  cophinaria,  or  will  choose  as  a  host  the 
eggs  of  a  species  of  Epeira,  or  indeed  of  other  tribes. 

This  point  needs  further  investigation,  and  would  be  a  matter  of  some 
importance  to  solve  with  absolute  certainty.  It  would  greatly  add  to  our 
respect  for  the  discriminating  powers  of  these  strange  insects  if 
Parasite  ^^  ^.^^^  ^^  establish  the  fact  that  they  can  select  a  spider's  eggs 
ences  even  when  they  are  hidden  away  under  protecting  cases  so  widely 
differing  in  appearance,  construction,  and  location.  The  question 
would  then  rise,  in  what  manner  do  the  ichneumons  determine  the  pres- 
ence of  the  eggs  ?  Do  they  watch  the  spiders  themselves  ?  Are  they  able 
to  detect  the  presence  of  spiders'  eggs  through  the  enclosing  enswathment 
by  some  sense  so  delicate  that  it  cannot  be  appreciated  by  human  beings  ? 
The  wingless  condition  of  the  females  doubtless  greatly  favors  them  in  their 
search  for  objects  hidden  away  as  spider's  cocoons  commonly  are. 


Fig.  337.      Parasitized  cocoon    of  Epeira   cinerea, 
opened  to  show  the  infesting  ichneumon  cocoons. 


VIII. 

These  are  not  all  the  hostile  agents  arrayed  against  the  embryo  life  of 
spiders.     Parasitic  plants  as  well  as  parasitic  insects  assail  them,  for   not 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  399 


unfrequently  the  eggs  are  destroyed  by  vegetable  mold.     According  to  the 
observations  of  Homburg,  house  spiders  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples  are  sub- 
ject to  a  malady  which  makes  them  appear  hideous.    Their  body 

Mold,         becomes  covered  over  with   scales,  bristling  one  above  the  other. 

Flies  .  . 

g.   ,  '         among  which  numbers  of  a  species  of  mites  are  discovered.    When 

the  spider  walks,  it  shakes  itself  and  throws  off  part  of  the  scales 

and  some  of   the  parasites.  ^ 

One  day  I  was  dissecting  a  cocoon  of  Epeira  sclopetaria,  and  had  just 
turned  back  the  white  sheeting  of  the  interior  sac,  thus  quite  exposing 
the  eggs,  when  a  house  fly  lit  upon  the  mass,  and  instantly  thrust  her 
proboscis  into  and  sucked  out  the  contents  of  an  egg.  I  permitted  the 
insect  to  continue  its  feast  long  enough  to  show  that  the  innumerable  com- 
pany of  common  flies  only  require  an  opportunity  to  wholly  cut  off  and 
exterminate  their  hereditary  foes  at  the  very  fountain  head  of  life. 
Spiders  themselves  enjoy  a  meal  of  spiders'  eggs ;  for  example,  Staveley 
speaks  of  two  species  of  Clubiona  feeding  upon  the  eggs  of  other  species.'^ 

Birds  have  already  been  alluded  to,  in  the  chapter  on  Aeronautic  Habits, 
as  utilizing  spider  cocoonery   in  the  construction   of  their  nests.     Among 

those  addicted   to   this   habit  are   the   pewit,  ^    the 
_,        .        wren,*  and   the  vireo,     I    have   several   specimens     //^ 
of  nests  made  by  a  species  of  the  last  named  bird^    ''^ 
probably  Vireo  noveborocensis,  collected  in  Fairmount  Park,    -iijlfi 
in  all  of  which  cobwebs  have  been  used  more  or  less  freel)^ 
(Fig.  339.)     I  am  told  that  this  is  habitual  with  that  bird. 
The  texture   of  the   spinningwork   shows,  evidently,  that   it 
had   been    plucked   from    cocoons ;    and   if   this    were    done 
before    abandonment   by   the   brood,   at   least  before   hatch-         .-^ 
ing,   the   destruction   of  the   contents    must    have    followed,    fig.  338.  a  cocoon 
It    illustrates    the    catholicitv    of    habit   among   the   animal      »««*  '^^  Epeira, 

..•'  ,...,,  .  rifled  of  its  eggs. 

races,   that   Dr.    David   Livingstone,    the   distinguished   mis- 
sionary explorer,  found  a  like  habit  in  Africa  among  the  sunbirds.^ 

Mr.  Carl  Voelker  has  a  specimen  of  the  nest  of  a  hummingbird,  which 
is  composed  in  considerable  part  of  various  portions  of  spinningwork  taken 
from  the  snares  and  cocoons  of  spiders.  He  has  seen  our  common  red 
throat  hummingbird,  Trojilus  rubicolis,  darting  at  the  webs  of  spiders 
and  gathering  the  threads  in  its  bill  for  nesting  purposes.  He  has  also 
found  minute  spiders  in  the  throats  of  birds  of  this  species,  and  believes, 
therefore,  that  it  is  their  habit  to  feed  upon  spiders.  The  Blue  Gray  Gnat- 
catchers  also  use  spider  webs  for  the  construction  of  their  nests,  and  thus 
probably  destroy  the  young  in  their  cocoons. 

^  Cuvier,  Animal  Kingdom,  Ed.  Lond.,  Vol.  XIII.,  Supplement,  page  463. 
2  British  Spiders,  page  101. 

*  Mr.  Thoma.s  Meehan,  the  botanist,  is  my  authority  for  this  statement. 

*  Mrs.  Treat,  "  My  Garden  Pets."  ^  Livingstone's  Last  Journals,  page  453. 


400 


AMERICAN  SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


The  above  facts,  uncovering  as  they  do  so  hard  a  destiny  impending 
over  every  stage  of  aranead  life,  might  well  awake  sympathy  in  the  breast 
of  the  most  pronounced  sj^ider  hater.  To  those  who  know  the  usefulness 
to  man  of  the  much  enduring  race,  and  view  its  destruction  from  the 
standpoint  of  human  disadvantage,  the  facts  are  melancholy  enough.  But 
after  all  there  seems  a  judicial  fitness  in  the  order  of  things  which  ap- 
points avengers  from  the  midst  of  the  insect  world  against  the  chief  de- 
stroyer of  the  insect  hosts.  Seeing,  therefore,  that  some  check  is  required 
upon  the  excessive  increase  of  spiders,  we  may  regard  their  relation  to 
the  Hymenoptera  with  some  complacency  from  the  view  point  of  natural 
justice. 


Fig.  339.    Nest  of  Vireo  noveborocensis  woven  together,  with  bands  and  threads 
of  plundered  spider  webs. 

-    IX. 

In  speaking  of  the  enemies  of  the  spider  we  have  thus  far  omitted 
one  of  the  most  determined  and  destructive — man  himself.     But  it  will  be 

observed  that  I  have  been  writing  of  the  natural  enemies  of 
Foolishly  spiders,  and  in  my  opinion  man  cannot  reasonably  be  classed 
J,  among  these.     His  hostility  to  the  various  families  of  the  spider 

world  is  without  reason  not  only,  but  is  against  reason.  It  is  an 
example  of   indulgence   in   a   prejudice  which   has  been   long  fostered   by 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  401 


ignorance,  and  which,  I  am  thankful  to  record,  is  yielding  before  the 
light  of  modern  science.  In  truth,  the  spider  is  not  only  a  harmless  creat- 
ure as  far  as  man  is  concerned,  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  most  helpful 
one  to  him  in  many  respects.  She  is  one  of  those  checks  established  in 
the  economy  of  Nature  against  the  increase  of  insects  whose  presence 
would  make  the  world  well  nigh  uninhabitable  by  the  human  species. 

Some  idea  of  the  destruction  wrought  in  the  insect  world  by  the  cun- 
ningly devised  snares  of  Orbweavers  may  be  had  from  the  following  facts : 
I  have  counted  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  insects,  small  and  great,  hang- 
ing entangled  in  one  web.  In  another  net,  in  Fairmount  Park,  I  counted 
thirty-eight  mosquitoes  ;  in  another,  hung  under  a  bridge  at  Asbury  Park, 
and  out  of  reach,  there  must  have  been  two  or  three  times  as  many. 
Greenhead  flies  by  the  legion  have  been  seen  in  the  snares  that  fairly  en- 
lace the  boat  houses  at  Atlantic  City  and  Cape  May.  Very  small  spiders 
prey  upon  microscopic  insects,  like  gnats,  and  devour  myriads.  A  glance 
at  the  fields,  bushes,  and  trees  on  a  dewy  morning  in  September  will  reveal 
an  innumerable  multitude  of  webs  spread  over  the  landscape,  all  occupied 
by  spiders  of  various  ages,  sizes,  and  families,  and  all  busy  destroying  the 
insect  pests  of  man.  These  webmaking  spiders  thus  revealed  are  only  a  part 
of  the  numberless  hosts  engaged  in  this  friendly  service.  On  the  ground, 
in  crevices  and  crannies  into  which  man  never  looks;  lurking  on  flowers, 
on  leaves,  on  limbs  and  twigs  of  trees,  shrubs,  grasses;  in  barns,  cellars, 
outhouses;  everywhere,  indeed,  upon  the  face  of  Nature,  one  who  will  take 
the  pains  to  look  will  find  legions  of  spiders  carrying  forward  day  and 
night  without  cessation  the  same  vigilant  and  unrelenting  warfare  upon 
the  insect  world.  They  are  of  all  sizes  and  of  various  forms ;  in  all  stages 
of  their  life,  from  the  spiderling  upon  its  tyro  web  to  the  grizzly  veteran 
just  ready  to  give  up  its  life  as  the  frosts  of  autumn  fall.  If  one  stops 
to  consider  that  all  these  creatures  must  find  food,  and  do  find  food,  and 
that  the  chief  supply  is  furnished  from  the  realms  of  insect  life,  he  may 
form  some  faint  conception  of  the  destruction  which  is  wrought,  and,  by 
consequence,  the  service  done  to  man. 

To  the  testimony  thus  gleaned  from  field  observations  we  may  add  the 
evidence  of  postmortem  examination  made  by  a  careful  and  learned  stu- 
dent with  the  aid  of  the  microscope.  Dr.  C.  Keller,  of  Zurich, 
Arachne  claims  that  spiders  perform  an  important  part  in  the  preserva- 
_,  .  tion  of  forests,  by  defending  the  trees  against  the  depredations 
Keeper.  ^^  aphides  and  insects.  He  has  examined  a  great  many  spiders, 
both  in  their  viscera  and  by  feeding  them  in  captivity,  and  has 
found  them  to  be  voracious  destroyers  of  these  pests ;  and  he  believes  that 
the  spiders  in  a  particular  forest  do  more  effective  work  of  this  kind  than 
all  the  insect  eating  birds  that  inhabit  it.  He  has  verified  his  views  by 
observations  on  coniferous  trees,  a  few  broad  leaved  trees,  and  apple  trees. 
An  important  feature  of  the  spiders'  operations  is  that  they  prefer  shaded 


402  AMERICAN   SPIDERS    AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

spots,  and  therefore  work  most  in  the  places  which  vermin  most  infest, 
but  which  are  likely  to  be  passed  by  other  destroying  agents. 

We  thus  see  that  man  is  not  only  indebted  to  Arachne  for  protection  to 
his  own  personal  safety  and  comfort,  but  also  for  the  protection  of  his  for- 
ests, fruit  orchards,  gardens,  and  fields.  Indeed,  the  whole  vegetable  world 
may  well  join  with  man  in  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to  a  creature  whose 
service  is  so  eminently  useful. 

Surely,  in  view  of  these  facts,  we  need  not  hesitate,  through  fear  of 
being  charged  with  undue  enthusiasm,  to  declare  the  spider  a  universal 
philanthropist.  She  labors  unceasingly  to  check  the  increase  of  a 
Arachne  horde  of  tiny^  insect  enemies  which  else  would  banish  the  liu- 
,,  .  . '  man  species  from  many  parts  of  the  earth.  Nor  does  she  make 
reprisals  of  any  sort  for  all  this  service.  She  never  attacks  fields, 
harvests,  vineyards,  and  orchards,  like  beetles,  grasshoppers,  and  various 
other  insects  in  the  perfect  and  larval  state;  she  never  forages  upon  the 
goodies  in  ladies'  kitchens  and  pantries,  as  do  roaches  and  ants;  she  does  not 
torment  and  afflict  by  cutting,  piercing,  sawing,  and  pumping,  by  buzzing, 
humming,  and  blowing,  like  the  mosquito  and  house  fly,  to  say  nothing  of 
less  desirable  denizens  of  the  entomological  kingdom.  An  occasional  (and 
doubtful)  "spider  bite"  one  does  hear  of  at  rare  intervals;  a  harmless  cob- 
web here  and  there  in  a  cranny  or  corner  of  one's  house,  that  is  all  that 
can  be  charged  against  her.  Yet  this  useful  aranead  is  despised,  abhorred, 
persecuted,  and  slain  with  a  zest  that  is  hardly  shown  against  any  other 
creature,  except  the  snake.  No ;  man  is  not  a  "  natural "  enemy  of  the 
spider,  but  an  enemy  by  a  culture  most  unnatural  and  unreasonable.  What 
stupid  ingrates  men  are  often  found !     "  What  fools  these  mortals  be !  " 

X. 

This  subject  could  not  be  held   complete  without  reference  to   the  rela- 
tion which   undoubtedly  exists   between  the   facts  which    the   chapter  un- 
covers and   many  of    those  interesting   habits    described   in   this 

Influence  volume  and  elsewhere.  That  the  instincts  and  industry  of  spiders 
of  Ene-  .  .  .  . 

are  in  a  large  degree  protective  will  not  admit  of  dispute.  It  is 
mies  on  ^  ^      ■,  •  i 

Industry,  certainly  a  reasonable  theory  that  they  have  m  part,  at  least,  arisen 

or  been  modified  by  that  fact.  That  is  to  say,  the  original  en- 
dowments of  the  creature  have  been  enlarged  and  varied  by  the  peculiar 
perils  with  which  successive  generations  have  had  to  contend. 

We  have  already  anticipated  the  influence  of  enemies  in  developing  the 
industrial  habits  of  spiders,  in  the  chapter  on  Nesting  Habits  and  Protective 
Architecture.  (Vol.  I.,  Chapter  XVII.,  pages  307-309.)  By  referring  to  the 
summary  of  the  various  forms  of  tents  there  described,  the  importance  of 
this  influence,  particularly  in  the  case  of  Orbweavers,  will  be  noted.  It 
appears   that  Orbweavers   live   continually   in   dread    of  enemies,  and    that 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  403 


their  whole  life  is  spent  in  a  defensive  industrial  warfare  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  persons.  In  order  to  illustrate  this  truth  a  little  more  fully 
I  propose  to  consider  the  habits  of  those  spiders  which  make  burrows  in 
the  ground,  namely,  the  Citigrades  and  Tunnelweavers.  Both  of  these 
tribes,  but  particularly  the  latter,  are  noted  for  the  admirable  dwelling 
places  which  they  construct.  I  hope  to  show  that  these  ingenious  homes 
are  largely  defensive. 

Beginning  with   the  Citigrades,  we  find,  in  the  first  place,  that  during 

the  period  of  moulting,  when   the  spider  is  conscious  of  its  de- 

•*     m     4-'  fenseless  condition  by  reason  of   physical  weakness,  it  is  in  the 

habit  of  protecting  itseli  by  covering  the  mouth  of  its  den  with 

a  silken  sheet,  or  by  spinning  a  special  cell  in  which  to  shed  its  skin. 

Again,  I  have  observed  Lj'^cosa,  when  about  to  make  her  cocoon,  con- 
struct a  cell  in  the  earth  and  carefully  cover  the  entrance  thereto  with  a 
silken  curtain.  She  was  animated,  as  I  conjectured,  by  the  wish  to  pre- 
serve herself  from  enemies  during  this  crisis  period  of  her  life.  I  have 
also  shown  that  it  is  the  universal  habit  of  these  Lycosids  to  construct  co- 
cooning  caves  or  nests  underneath  stones,  logs,  and  like  situa- 
tions, which  are  carefully  plastered  and  enclosed  on  all  sides, 
cooning  J    IT  J 

Caves.  leaving  an  entrance  which  is  usually  well  protected  from  assaults 
of  ordinary  enemies.  This  appears  to  be  a  cosmopolitan  habit; 
at  least,  Mr.  Campbell  tells  us  that  some  English  Lycosids  dig  an  irregular 
oval  cavity  about  one  inch  by  a  half  inch  in  diameter,  close  it  with  a  con- 
glomerate of  silken  threads  and  earth,  and  remain  therein  with  the 
cocoon.  He  kept  one  Lycosid  in  confinement  and  twice  destroyed  her 
retreat,  only  to  find  another  made  the  following  morning.  The  top  was 
covered  with  granular  pieces  of  soil,  such  as  might  have  been  raked  over 
the  silken  lining  with  her  feet.  In  both  the  above  conditions,  namely, 
while  moulting  and  while  cocooning,  these  Citigrades  appear  to  be  driven 
to  special  industrial  provisions  by  the  impulse  of  self  protection. 

That  the  same  habit  prevails  as  a   protection  against   the  destructive 
influences  of  climate  is  well  attested.     Lycosids  everywhere  appear  to  seal 
up   the  openings   to  their   cylindrical   burrows  at  the  advent  of 
.    '        winter.     The    advantage   of   such   artificial   closure,   as   a   protec- 
Covers.      ^^^^   against  winter  cold,  was  well   demonstrated   by  Mrs.  Treat. 
A   large   example  of   Lycosa   carolinensis,  which   makes   a  beau- 
tiful nest  (Fig.  291,  Vol.  I.,  page  316)  was  brought  from  New  Hampshire 
and  domiciled  in  Mrs.  Treat's  ground.     Its  burrow  was  only  eight  inches 
deep,  yet  there  was  a  marked   increase  of   temperature  above  that  at  the 
surface.     This   could   be   discerned   by  placing   the  hand  at  the  mouth  of 
the  tube.     One  cold  morning  when  the  thermometer  stood  twenty  degrees 
above   zero   (^Fahrenheit)   a   thermometer   was    introduced.      It   ran    up   to 
forty  degrees,  making  a  difference  of  twenty  degrees   in   temperature  be- 
tween  that  prevailing  at  the  surface  and  that  within  the  burrow.     Soon 


404  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


after  this  test  was  made,  late  in  November,  the  spider  closed  its  burrow 
with  a  canopy  of  thick  web,  over  which  were  drawn  a  few  sticks  and 
straws.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  advantage  thus  secured  by  the  bur- 
rowing habit,  against  the  exigencies  of  a  severe  winter,  strongly  tend  to 
protect  the  life  of  Lycosids. 

I  have  also  called  attention  to  the  fact,  while  treating  upon  the  cocooning 
industry  and  maternal  instincts  of  spiders,  that  the  industrial  product  of 
such  skillful  architects  as  certain  Lycosids  and  the  Trapdoor  spiders,  is 
probably  influenced  by  the  mother's  wish  to  protect  her  eggs.  I  refer  the 
reader  to  what  is  said  Chapter  III.,  page  64,  merely  remarking  that  it 
would  indeed  be  strange  were  not  the  strongest  feelings  in  animal  nature 
to  leave  their  impress  in  some  form  upon  the  industrial  life  of  animals. 
I  have  also  suggested  that  even  the  sexual  excitement  of  the  male  reacts 
upon  his  industrial  energies  and  tends  to  the  development  of  a  higher  skill, 
at  least  in  certain  species.     (See  page  65.) 

I  now  proceed  to  show  that  the  necessity  of  self  protection  against  their 
most  persistent  and  formidable  enemies,  the  wasps,  has  led  certain  Lycosids 
to  adopt  a  special  and  interesting  form  of  protective  architecture. 
4.  Self      ^^Q  fortunately  have  abundant  facts  in  the  case  of   Lycosa  tigri- 
.    °  ®°  ■     na,^    as  carefully  observed  and  recorded  by   Mrs.   Mary  Treat.  ^ 
dustry,      Tigrina's  method   of  working,  as  observed  from  a  large  female 
specimen  in  confinement,  is  as  follows:    She  first  spins  a  canopy 
of  web  over  her  tunnel,  leaving  a  place  of  exit  on  one  side.     She  next  goes 
out  and  carefully  moves  over  the  canopy  as  if  to  see  whether  it  is  strong 
and  secure.     Satisfied  that  it  is  all  right,  she  steps  down,  just  letting  her 
fore  feet  touch  the  web,  while  with  her  hind  legs  she  feels  and  apparently 
examines  the  material.     Finally,  she  selects  a  dry  oak  leaf  about  two  inches 
broad  and  three  in  length,  lays  it  over  the  canopy,  and  proceeds  to  fasten 
it  down  all  around  except  at  the  entrance.     After,  the  leaf  is  made  secure 
she  reaches  up  and  pulls  down  blades  of  grass,  lays  them  over  the  leaf  and 
dexterously  fastens  them  down  with  webs.     This  makes  a  strong  roof  for 
her  domicile.     Then  she  goes  within  and  puts  the  finishing  touches  on  the 
inside.     This  done,  she  stands  in  the  door  of  her  neat  apartment  awaiting 
insects  that  may  chance  to  come  within  her  range.     If  a  beetle, 
Tigrina's   fQj.    example,    approaches,  she  rushes  upon  it  and  bears   it  into 
ossy       YiQY  den.     A  few  days  after  the  work  is  thus  begun,  Tigrina  com- 
pletely closes  the  entrance  to  her  domicile,  and  the  observer  avers 
that  if  she  had  not  known  the  spot   in   which    it  was  located,  she  would 
not  have  been  able  to  find  it. 

'  Tarentula  tigrina  McCook,  Proceedings  Amer.  Entom.  Soc.  (Section),  page  xi.,  May,  1879. 
The  burrowing  habit  of  this  species  is  there  for  the  first  time  fully  described  by  me,  and  a 
l)rief  description  given  of  the  female.  Emerton  (New  England  Spiders  of  the  Family  Lyco- 
sidai,  1885)  describee  the  Hi)ecie8  as  Lycosa  vulpina.  I  judge  that  my  own  name  has  pre- 
cedence. 2  Home  Studies  in  Nature,  Harper's  Magazine,  1880,  page  710. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR    INFLUENCE. 


405 


At  one  time  twenty-eight  of  these  spiders  were  kept  under  observation 
in  the  observer's  grounds.  She  visited  them  all  frequently  and  found  that 
more  than  half  the  number,  both  males  and  females,  had  closed  their  doors 
firmly.  Some  of  the  burrows  were  situated  in  bits  of  moss,  and  the  moss 
was  so  cunningly  arranged  over  them  that  the  most  expert  naturalist  would 
have  found  it  difficult  to  tell  where  they  were  located.  Mrs.  Treat  had 
often  tested  the  matter  with  her  friends,  to  see  if  they  could  find  one 
of  these  concealed  burrows,  limiting  their  search  to  a  few  square  inches 
of  space.  But  they  rarely  hit  upon  the  right  spot.  Mrs.  Treat  kindly  con- 
tributed some  of  the  coverings  of  these   Tigrina  burrows  to   my  collection 


(/ir'V(^- 


Pio.  840.    A  vestibule  and  dome  of  vegetable  debris  reared  over  the  burrow  of  Lycosa  tigrina. 
Natural  size.    (From  a  cabinet  specimen.) 

of  aranead  architecture.     They  are  masses  of  vegetable  debris,  moss,  grass 

blades,   chippage,   dry  twigs,   the  shell  of   an  acorn,   etc.,   arranged   in  an 

irregular  dome  several  inches  in  diameter  across  the  base  and  an  inch  or 

more  in  height.     (See  Fig.  340  and  Figs.  341,  342.) 

What  is  the  explanation  of  this  care  shown  Ijy  Tigrina  in  the  covering 

of  its   den   in   midsummer?     The  closure  in  winter  is  explained 
The  Ex 

1       .  •       by  the  natural  desire    to    protect   the   burrow    from    frost    and 
planation.    ''  ^  .  .  .  . 

snow.     The  closure  during  or  previous  to  the  moulting  season  is 

explained  by  the  fact  that  the  spider  requires  especial  protection  at  a  period 


406  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

of  special  weakness  and  inability  for  defense.  The  closure  of  the  domicile 
just  before  cocooning  is  explained  by  the  maternal  instinct  which  drives 
mothers  into  hiding  at  that  crisis  period  of  life.  But  August  is  the  time 
when  insects  are  most  plentiful  in  our  climate,  and  one  would  think  that  then 
Tigrina  would  keep  her  burrow  open  in  order  more  freely  to  prey  upon 
insects. 

The  explanation  is  certainly  found  in  the  presence  of  a  species  of  Digger 
wasp,  Elis  4-notata  Fabr.  (Scolia),  (Plate  V.,  Fig,  3.)  She  belongs  to  the 
arachnophagous  species,  and,  although  the  mother  appears  to  feed 
-.  ,  upon  nectar  and  honey,  the  grub  feeds  upon  the  juices  of  spi- 
ders, and  the  particular  species  affected  by  the  wasp  larva  is 
Lycosa  tigrina.  The  wasp  is  large  and  strong,  has  smoky  brown  wings 
with  a  strong  purplish  blue  iridescence,  and  two  bright  orange  spots  on 
either  side  of  the  abdomen.  She  runs  over  the  ground  swiftly,  peering 
here  and  there  into  various  recesses,  until  she  alights  upon  an  open  bur- 
row of  Tigrina.  Down  into  this  she  plunges,  and  soon  returns  dragging 
up  the  inhabitant,  which  she  has  already  paralyzed  with  her  powerful 
sting.  Woe  now  to  all  spiders  with  unclosed  doors,  for  Elis  is  sure  to 
find  them  ! 

Sometimes  two  wasps  are  hunting  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  when  one 
finds  a  spider  the  other  tries  to  wrest  it  from  her.  A  furious  battle  en- 
sues. The  combatants  drop  the  prey  and  clinch  in  conflict,  seemingly  try- 
ing to  stab  each  other  with  their  stings.  The  victorious  party  returns  to 
the  spider,  which  is  often  heavier  than  herself,  and  proceeds  to  drag  it  to 
her  nest.  She  moves  backward  for  a  time,  drawing  it  over  the  ground, 
then  tries  flying  a  short  distance,  but  the  burden  is  so  heavy  that  she  soon 
comes  to  the  ground  again.  She  is  so  active  and  quick  in  her  movements 
that  one  has  to  walk  quite  fast  to  keep  abreast  with  her.  She  carries  the 
spider  several  rods  from  where  she  obtained  it,  lays  it  down  on  the  gravel 
walk,  and  hunts  over  the  ground.  Presently  she  finds  a  burrow  which  she 
had  previously  dug,  takes  up  her  spider,  and  disappears  within. 
g  .  ,  She  comes  out  empty  handed  and  proceeds  to  fill  up  the  hole 
with  the  earth  she  had  thrown  up.  She  works  so  rapidly  that 
one  can  scarcely  tell  which  feet  she  uses  most.  She  seems  to  dig  with 
her  fore  feet  and  rake  the  earth  in  backward  with  her  hind  feet.  Soon 
the  hole  is  full.  And  now  she  makes  a  battering  ram  of  herself  by  rapidly 
striking  her  body  on  the  ground,  as  if  'to  pound  the  earth  down.  This 
done,  she  rakes  the  ground  all  over  and  around  the  place  to  make  it  level, 
then  collects  small  pebbles  in  her  mandibles  and  lays  them  over  the  spot, 
until  it  looks  little  different  from  the  surrounding  ground.  Elis  also 
knows  how  to  practice  local  mimicry! 

When  one  of  these  mother  wasps  had  retired,  the  observer  dug  up 
the  paralyzed  spider,  which  was  about  four  inches  below  the  surface,  and 
found   an   egg  sticking  in  the  body.     This  egg  hatches  into  a  white  grub 


ENEMIES   AND    THEIR   INFLUENCE.  407 


in  about  six  weeks,  when  it  at  once  begins  to  feed  upon  the  stored  spider. 
When  full  grown  it  passes  into  a  chrysalis  state,  in  which  it  remains  until 
the  following  summer,  when  it  emerges,  a  mature  insect,  and,  like  its 
mother,  begins  a  remorseless  raid  upon  the  Tiger  spiders.  The  wasps  con- 
tinue their  raids  for  two  or  three  weeks,  only  the  spiders  with  closed 
doors  escaping.  Sometimes  a  spider  will  keep  herself  shut  up  for  two 
weeks  and  then  timidly  open  her  door  and  look  out. 

After  the  end  of  August  the  maternal  rage  had  exhausted  itself,  the 
wasps  disappeared,  and  then  Mrs.  Treat  found  that  out  of  twenty-eight 
spiders  only  five  were  left !  These  survivors  soon  opened  their  doors,  and 
occasionally  one  would  cut  the  threads  of  the  spinning  work  which  unites 
the  thatching  material  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  a  sort  of  trapdoor, 
leaving  hinge  on  one  side.  (See  Figs.  341  and  342.)  But  more  commonly 
a  hole  was  left  in  one  end  of  the  oven  shaped  cover,  which  the  spider 
would  readily  close  by  drawing  the  material  together  and  fastening  it  with 
threads. 

It  seems  impossible,  in  view  of  such  a  careful  and  intelligent  record 
as  this,  to  doubt  the  fact  that  the  instinct  by  which  Lycosa  tigrina  is  im- 
pelled to  construct  the  vestibule  roof  and  door  to  her  den,  has 
Danger  been  vitalized  by,  or  at  least  associated  with,  the  natural  in- 
j  ,  ,  stinct  of  self  protection  against  the  raids  of  its  formidable  enemy, 
the  Digger  wasp.  This  is  further  emphasized  by  the  fact  that 
the  partly  grown  Tigrinas,  who  are  not  molested  by  the  wasps,  have  never 
been  observed  to  conceal  their  burrows  in  the  manner  of  the  adult.  Tigri- 
na's  rude  architecture  is  a  product  of  her  peril. 

The  defensive  motive  in  the  architecture  of  Lycosa  tigrina,  which  is 
thus  clearly  demonstrated,  serves  as  a  key  to  the  purpose  underlying  all 
the  architecture,  not  only  of  the  Lycosidse,  but  of  other  burrowing  spe- 
cies. The  watch  tower  which  guards  the  nest  of  the  Turret  spider  (Vol- 
ume I.,  Fig.  289,  page  314) ;  the  interesting  structure  so  closely  resembling 
a  bird's  nest,  reared  above  her  nest  by  Lycosa  carolinensis  (Volume  I., 
Fig.  291) ;  and  other  forms  of  industry  of  which  these  are  types,  may  all 
be  considered  as  in  part,  at  least,  the  result  of  protective  industry. 

According  to  the  account  of   Dufour,  the  habits  of  Lycosa  tigrina  and 

Lycosa  arenicola  are  quite  similar  to  those  of  the  famous  Lycosa  tarentula 

of   Italy,  the  heroine   of  the  "  Tarentula   dance."     This  aranead 

ycosa      forms  a  cylindrical  burrow  in  the  earth,  often  more  than  a  foot 
tarentula.  "^ 

long,  and  about  one  inch  in  diameter.     At  about  four  or  five 

inches  below  the  surface  the  perpendicular  tube  is  bent  horizontally,  and 

it  is  at  this  angle  that  Tarentula  watches  for  the  approach  of  enemies  or 

prey.     The  external   ofiice   of   the  burrow  is   ordinarily  surmounted  by  a 

separately   constructed   tube.     This   tube   and    outer    piece   of   architecture 

rises  about  an  inch  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  is  sometimes  as 

much  as  two  inches  in  diameter,  being  thus  even  larger  than  the  burrow 


408 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  341  (upper  figure).    Vestibule  of  Tigrina's  burrow,  with  door  open.       Fig.  342  (lower  figure). 
The  same,  with  door  closed.    Natural  size.    (Drawn  from  cabinet  specimens.) 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  409 

itself.  The  tube  is  composed  of  fragments  of  white  silk  fastened  together 
with  particles  of  clay,  etc.,  and  so  artistically  disposed,  one  above  the 
other,  that  they  form  a  scaffold,  having  the  form  of  an  upright  column, 
of  whicli  the  interior  is  a  hollow  cylinder.  The  tube  is  lined  with  silk 
throughout  its  whole  length.^ 

XI. 

1  have  no   hesitation  in  also   applying  the  key  thus  furnished  by  the 

habits  of  Tigrina  to  interpret  the  motive  of  Trapdoor  spiders  in 
Trat)door         •  ...  i  i 

<;^  .^  their   remarkable   industry.     With   this    in   mind,  and  aided   by 

other  facts  and  conclusions  drawn  from  a  direct  study  of  this 
form  of  nest,  we  may  venture  to  approach  the  subject. 

M.  Eugene  Simon  has  contributed  largely  to  our  knowledge  of  Tunnel- 
weaving  spiders  in  a  recent  paper  presented  in  the  Annals  of  the  Entomo- 
logical Society  of  France  ^  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Linnean  Society  of 
Bordeaux.^  His  descriptions  are  accompanied  by  notes  upon  the  habits 
and  architecture  of  the  spiders,  with  admirable  illustrations,  which  greatly 
enlarge  our  knowledge  of  the  nesting  habits  of  these  interesting  creatures, 
who  rank  among  the  most  skillful  artificers  of  the  animal  world.  Mr. 
Simon's  notes  were  made  from  specimens  obtained  in  Venezuela  and  North 
Africa,  the  Venezuelan  specimens  being  studied  personally  during  a  visit 
to  that  country.  A  comparative  study  of  his  papers  enables  us  to  trace 
the  progressive  development  of  the  nesting  architecture  of  Tunnelweavers 
from  the  simplest  tube  in  the  ground  to  the  hinged  doors  or  trapdoors 
which  close  the  silk  lined  burrows,  and  which  are  so  well  known  for 
their  mechanical  perfection. 

The  simplest  form  of  burrow  is  that  of  the  Tarantulas,  which  represent 
the  largest  known  spiders.     These  huge  araneads  appear  to  depend  wholly 

upon  their  size  to  resist  the  assaults  of  enemies  who  invade  their 
1.  Taran-  ^qj^     ^^  igg^g^^  j  have  not  found  satisfactory  evidence  that  they 
Qj.    •  y.f    erect  any  artificial  barrier  over  the  entrance  to  their  tunnels. 
Burrow.  "^  more  complicated  burrow  and  one  better  serving  for  defense 

is  that  of  Leptopelma  cavicula  of  northern  Africa.  The  drawing 
(Fig.  343)  shows  a  section  view  of  the  upper  part  of  the  burrow,  the  en- 
trance to  which  is  without  any  door  or  other  defense  as  in  the  case  of  the 
tarantulas.  The  burrow  descends  perpendicularly  for  a  little  ways,  but  at 
the  top  a  special  branch  diverges  laterally,  which  curves  and  again  descends 
perpendicularly  for  a  considerable  distance.  At  the  summit  of  this  second 
and  parallel  perpendicular  tube  another  branch  issues,  inclining  upwards 
towards  the  surface.     A  glance  at  this   structure,  if  we   suppose  it  to  be 

^  Lucas,  Hist.  Nat.  des  Animaux  Crust,  et  Arach.,  page  357. 

2  Extrait  des  Annales  de  la  Societe  Entomologique  de  France,  "  Arachnides  du  Vene- 
zuela," December,  1887,  April,  1888,  pages  170-220,  plates  i.,  ii.,  iii. 

*  Actes  de  la  Societe  Linneenne  de  Bordeaux,  Vol.  XLII.,  1888. 


410 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  344. 


Fig.  346. 


Fig.  345. 


Fig.  343. 


Fig.  343.  Burrow  of  Leptopelma  cavicula ;  section  view  of  upper  part.  Fig.  344.  Lily  shaped 
tube  of  Leptopelma  elongata.  Fig.  345.  Turret  of  Dolichoscaptus  inops.  (Natural  size.) 
Fig.  346.  Turret,  with  trapdoor,  of  Dolichoscaptus  latastei,  supported  on  a  plant.  Four 
inches  high.    (After  Simon.) 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE.  411 


characteristic  of  the  species  and  not  an  accidental  formation,  will  show  that 

it  makes  an  admirable  protection  against  heavy  rains,  which  sink  away  into 

the  first  burrow  as  a  kind  of  reservoir,  enabling  the  spider  to  escape 

2.  Lepto-  \yy  j^Yie  diverging  branch.     Against  enemies  who  pursue  it  into  its 
p        ,        den  this  structure  also  presents  an  effectual  defense,  for,  while  an 
Burrow,     enemy  naturally  would  rush  downward  into  the  first  direct  pass- 
age, the  spider  may  escape  by  the  lateral  branch.     Supposing  that 

the  enemy,  observing  the  mistake,  ascends  and  follows  along  the  branches, 
the  spider  has  the  opportunity  to  push  up  into  the  second  branch  while  the 
pursuer,  again  following  its  natural  instinct,  would  rush  down  the  second 
perpendicular  tube.  I  am  here  in  the  region  of  conjecture,  but  perhaps  no 
better  explanation  presents  itself. 

A  third  stage  in  the  development  of   this  defensive  industry  is  repre- 
sented at  Fig.  344,  which  shows  the  external  tube  of  Leptopelma  elongata.^ 
This  is  simply  a  lily  shaped  tube  of   i)ure  white  spinningwork, 

3.  Silken  rising  directly  above  the  burrow,  and  supported  by  surrounding 
m  foliage.      The  purpose  of   this  structure  has  not  been  positively 

determined.  As  able  a  naturalist  as  A.  R.  Wallace  has  conjectured 
that  it  may  be  deceptive  in  its  uses,  its  resemblance  to  a  flower  attracting 
to  it  insects,  which  are  thus  pre3^ed  upon  by  the  proprietor.  Such  elevated 
objects  are  certainly  apt  to  attract  insects,  who  are  disposed  to  alight  upon 
them  even  without  regard  to  their  promise  of  providing  food.  But  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  Leptopelma's  silken  lily  serves  as  a  watch  tower 
from  which  she  can  observe  the  approach  of  enemies  and  make  good  her 
escape  in  time.  Moreover,  I  believe  that  -  it  is  possible  for  her  to  pull 
together  the  sides  of  the  sheeted  turret  and  thus  erect  a  barrier  between 
herself  and  some  of  her  feebler  pursuers. 

Another  form   of   defensive  industry  is  presented  at  Fig.  345,  which  is 
the   exterior  part  of  the  turret  tube   of  Dolichoscaptus  inops  Simon.     Tliis 

is  about  an  inch  in  height,  and  is  composed  of  mingled  chippage 

4.  Con-      g^^^  mud,  a  sort  of  debris  of  chopped  straw  and  soil. 

g  omer  e  ^  ^^^^i  further  stage  is  shown  at  Fig.  346,  which  represents  a 
Doorless.  columnar  turret  of  Dolichoscaptus  latastei  several  inches  high. 
This  resembles  the  tower  of  the  preceding  species,  but  adds  thereto 
a  hinged  covering  after  the  manner  of  the  trapdoor.  This  turret  is  also 
composed  of  chippage  and  debris  of  various  sorts  gathered  from  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  is  supported  upon  the  surrounding  foliage,  which  in 

5.  Trap-  ^j^g  drawing  is  a  plant  of  Lavandula  dentata.  All  the  uses  to 
m  which  such  an  elevated  structure  can  be  put  are  served   by  this 

ingenious  structure,  and,  in  addition,  the  trapdoor  is  manifestly 
intended  to  defend  the  inmate  from  the  assault  of  enemies. 

We  come  now  to  the  trapdoor  nests  of  Nemesia  meredionalis,  and  other 


^  Cyrtauchenius  elongatus;  see  Volume  I.,  page  322,  Fig.  304. 


412  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 

species  making  traps  of  the  wafer  type,  as  so  fully  described  by  Moggridge. 
Here  we  have  simply  a  dropping  away  of  the  turret  of  Dolichoscaptus 
and  the  use  of  the  burrow  independently  of  the  same,  but  with  the  trapdoor 
retained.  In  the  species  studied  by  Moggridge  a  single  burrow  is  the  or- 
dinary rule,  but  there  are  many  variations,  some  of  which  are  manifestly 
characteristic  of  species,  and  others  which  are  probably  occasional  and  ac- 
cidental. 

A  variation  described  by  Mr.  Simon   is  shown  at  Fig.  349,  the  nest  of 
Stothis  astuta,  which   inhabits  the  forest  of   Cartuche,  near  Caracas,  Soutli 

America.  The  drawing  shows  a  section  of  the  burrow,  indicating 
6.  Bur-  ^}jg  curved  course,  and  also  the  two  wafer  like  trapdoors  habit- 
L,  „  ually  placed  at  either  end.     That  this  peculiar  industry  is  defensive 

Door.         ^^  probable,  for  we  can  readily  imagine  the   spider  disappearing 

within  its  den  at  one  door,  and,  if  its  pursuer  should  succeed  in 
entering  the  same,  escaping  at  the  other.  We  might,  without  much  stress 
of  imagination,  carry  the  conception  a  little  further,  and  suppose  again  the 
enemy  making   its   exit  from   one   door   and   the   spider   again   descending 


Fic.  347.  Fig.  348. 

Fig.  347.    Silk  lined  case  of  Stothis  astuta,  with  two  doors. 
Fig.  348.    Front  view  of  a  door. 

into  its  burrow  by  the  other.  This  game  of  bo-peep  might  evidently  be 
played  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  Trapdoor  spider  and  manifest  dis- 
concerting of  its  enemy. 

Simon  gives  an  interesting  example  of  the  ability  of  a  spider  of  this 
species  to  change  its  habit  and  adapt  its  industry  to  unexpected  sur- 
roundings. The  species  commonly  seeks  dark  and  damp  localities,  and 
digs  in  vegetable  earth  a  burrow  not  very  deep.  The  nest,  which  is 
drawn  in  side  view  at  Fig.  347,  and  a  front  view  of  the  door  shown  at 
Fig.  348,  was  begun  underneath  a  stone  in  soil  which  was  so  rocky  as  to 
be  impenetrable.  Not  wishing  to  change  its  site,  and  not  to  be  cheated 
out  of  its  proposed  domicile,  Stothis  proceeded  to  erect  a  cylindrical  case 
about  two  inches  long,  composed  of  a  conglomerate  gathered  from  surround- 
ing particles  of  soil  and  vegetable  chippage.  These  were  cunningly  wrought 
together,  the  whole  structure  silk  lined,  and  the  characteristic  trapdoors 
hung,  one  at  either  end.  Thus,  while  varying  her  habit  in  so  far  as  to 
build  a  surface  tunnel  instead  of  a  subterranean  one,  Stothis  preserved  her 
defensive  habit  of  erecting  for  herself  a  back  door  by  which  she  could 
retreat  in  case  of  invasion  at  the  front  door. 

Fig,   350   represents  the  burrow   of    Stothis   cenobita   Simon,   which    is 


ENEMIES   AND    THEIR   INFLUENCE. 


413 


Fig.  350. 


Fig.  349. 


Fig.  351. 


Fig.  349.  Section  view  of  curved  burrow  of  Stothis  astuta,  showing  double  trapdoor  entrance. 
Fig.  350.  The  globular  burrow,  with  trapdoor  of  Stothis  cenobita.  (Section  view.)  Fig.  351. 
Front  view  of  trapdoor.    (Natural  size.) 


414 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


simply  a  rounded  chamber  underneath   the  surface  and   closed  by  a  trap- 
door, Fig.  352,  which  differs  in  no  particular,  as  far  as  I  can  observe,  from 
the  ordinary  trapdoor  of  the  American  Cteniza  californica.     (See 
7.  Bur-      Fig  240  B,  page  183.) 

"^  k  "  ^^  ^^  difficult  to  say  what  may  be  the  enemies  of  the  Trapdoor 

Door.  spider  against  which  such  ingenious  architecture  has  been  reared 
and  such  vigilant  watch  is  exercised.  But  the  quite  general  testi- 
mony is  that  these  spiders  leave  their  tubes  at  night  and  go  forth  in  search 
of  prey;  or,  as  in  other  cases,  open  the  lids  of  their  tunnels  and  spread  strag- 
gling lines  near  by,  upon  which  passing  insects  are  entangled  and  delayed 
long  enough  to  allow  the  spiders  to  pounce  upon  them  from  their  open 
caves.  If  we  credit  these  accounts  we  might  infer  that  the  enemies  which 
the  Trapdoor  spiders  most  dread  are  not  such  as  are  abroad  at  night. 
Evidently  the  creatures  are  fearless  at  that  time,  a  state  of  mind  which 
doubtless  results    from   their  knowledge   that  they  are   comparatively  free 

from  their  worst  enemies.  The 
enemies  which  they  most  dread 
may  therefore  be  reasonably  look- 
ed for  among  diurnal  creatures, 
and  not  among  those  of  nocturnal 
habits. 

Among  these  foes  at  least  one 
of  the  most  formidable  and  irre- 
sistible is  a  diurnal  insect,  the  fe- 
male of  the  terrible  Digger  wasp, 
which  I  do  not  doubt  will  be 
found  to  store  Trapdoor  spiders, 
as  well  as  Tarantulas  and  Lyco- 
sids.  There  is  no  evidence  known 
to  me  that  Pepsis  formosa  in- 
vades the  tunnel  of  the  Myga- 
lidae  in  order  to  dig  them  out. 
Such   an    act    is   not   indeed   be- 

352.    Trapdoor  of  Cteniza  californica  (natural  size),      VOnd    her    DOWCrS     and     rCaSOninS" 
to  show  the  claw  marks  on  the  silk  lining.  f  >  )  & 

from  the  conduct  of  Elis  4-notata, 
it  is  highly  probable.  But  we  are  not  yet  warranted  in  attributing  the 
habit  to  her.  Some  lizard  or  mammal  ihat  might  pull  open  the  trap 
with  its  claws  may  be  looked  for  as  also  a  probable  enemy  against  which 
Trapdoor  spiders  erect  and  defend  their  ingenious  barrier. 

At  all  events,  the  spider  herself  is  well  aware  of  these  enemies.  Abbe 
Sauvages  invariably  found,  when  he  attempted  to  open  the  door  of  the 
nest  of  "the  Mason  spider"  (Nemesia  and  Cteniza),  that  the  mother  was 
on  guard,  holding  down  the  lid  of  her  tunnel  with  great  force.  In  his 
efforts  to   pull  the  trapdoor  up  the   spider  would  jerk  it  down  again,  and 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE. 


415 


there  would  be  an  alternate  opening  and   shutting  of  the  nest  until  his 
purpose  was  accomplished.^ 

It  is  the  habit,  according  to  Moggridge,  Simon,  and  all  observers  who 
have  noted  the  point  at  all,  for  these  animals  to  hang  back  downward 
upon  the  inner  surface  of  the  door.  In  many  nests  which  I  have  seen 
there  are  holes  along  the  outer  or  free  edge  of  the  door — the  part  directly 
opposite  the  hinge — which  mark  the  points  at  which,  probably,  the  fangs 
of  the  spider  had  been  fixed,  in  order  to  give  it  a  strong  purchase  against 
intruders.  These  holes  are  usually  three,  and  show  with  great  distinct- 
ness, even  in  the  photograph  from  which  Fig.  352  was  drawn,  which  is 
the  upper  part  of  the  nest  of  our  California  Trapdoor  spider,  Cteniza  cali- 
fornica. 


XII. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  developments  of  industrial  skill  under 
hostile  influences  is  that  described  by  Moggridge  in  the  inner  door  of 
Nemesia  congener.^  The  general  character 
of  the  nest  is  that  of  a  tube  ten  or  twelve 
inches  long,  drilled  horizontally  into  the  side 
of  a  slope,  and  closed  outside  with  a  wafer 
door.  This  horizontal  burrow  bends  abrupt- 
ly, and  is  continued  perpendicularly  down- 
ward, with  a  short  branch  extending  upwards 
towards  the  surface.  At  the  juncture  or 
bending  is  suspended  a  wedge  shaped  double 
door,  which  tapers  from  below  upwards  to  a 
hinge.  The  door  has  two  crowns,  separated 
from  each  other  by  the  gusset  like  web  of 
silk  that  connects  the  door  on  either  side  with 
the  lining  of  the  main  tube.  One  of  these 
crowns  fits  into  and  closes  the  main  tube, 
while  the  other  fits  into  the  aperture  of  the 
upward  branch.  This  swinging  door  acts  very 
much  in  the  fashion  of  a  valve,  dropping 
down  to  close  the  entrance  from  the  first  to 
the  second  tube,  and  swinging  upward  in  such 
a  way  as  to  protect  the  spider  when  it  is 
cowering  within  the  upper  branch  of  the  per- 
pendicular tube.  The  wedge  like  structure  of  this  door  is  seen  not  only 
in  the  adult  spider's  nest,  but  in  even  more  exaggerated  shape  in  the  nests 
of  the  younger  ones. 


Fig.  354. 
Fig.  353.    Cyclocosmia  truncata.      Fig. 
354.  Side  view  of  same  (After  Hentz.) 


'  Cuvier,  Animal  Kingdom,  Lond.  ed.,  Vol.  XIII.,  Supplement,  page  465. 
2  Trapdoor  Spiders,  Supplement,  page  223  and  pi.  xvi. 


416  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR    SPINNINGWORK. 

Mr.  George  T.  Atkinson,  who  has  given  some  attention  to  the  AmeTi- 
can  Territelarise,  dissents  from  Mr.  Moggridge's  supposition  that  this  and 
other  inside  doors  affords  the  Trapdoor  spider  a  means  of  escape  when 
pursued  by  an  enemy,  the  view  which  I  have  favored  in  the  foregoing 
pages.  Mr.  Atkinson,  on  the  contrary,  found  indications  that  the  main 
tube  of  Myrmeciaphila  foliata  ^  is  constructed  to  serve  as  a  gallery  for  the 
passage  of  ants  or  other  insects,  and  that  the  branch  so  constructed  is  a 
real  trap  in  which  the  spider  awaits  the  passing  of  an  ant,  when  it  opens 
the  door  and  catches  the  insect.  In  support  of  this  opinion,  he  states  that 
he  found  that  the  trapdoor  nests  were  all  made  in  places  where  ants  had 
underground  passages;  that  the  main  tube  connected  directly  with  some  of 
the  ant  galleries;  that  the  trapdoor  at  the  surface  of  the  ground  had  the 
appearance  of  being  little  used ;  and,  finally,  that  one  nest  had  only  one 
door,  which  led  into  a  short  tube  that  opened  into  the  floor  of  a  broad 
hall  in  an  ant's  nest  leading  into  several  galleries.  This  hall  was  the 
gangway  to  the  surface  of  the  ground  made  by  the  ants,  and  through  this 
the  spider  probably  entered  the  hall  to  construct  her  branch  tube  into 
the  floor. 

Again,  in  May,  at  Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina,  Mr.  Atkinson  found  a 
nest  of  the  same  species  under  conditions  which  seemed  to  give  conclusive 
evidence  that  the  main  tube  is  intended  to  entrap  un- 
wary insects  as  they  pass  the  door  of  the  branch  where 
the  spider  lurks.  This  nest  was  made  in  a  broad  foot 
path  where  the  clay  soil  was  very  hard.  It  was  discovered 
by  seeing  the  open  door.  The  following  day  Atkinson 
visited  the  place  with  trowel  in  hand,  to  take  up  the  spi- 
der. He  found  the  door  still  open.  The  main  tube  was 
about  nine  inches  long;  the  branch  about  one  inch  long, 
situated  six  inches  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In 
this  the  spider  was  found.  The  door  to  the  branch  was 
a  "cork"  door,  that  is,  a  thick  beveled  one,  while  that  at 
the  surface  of   the  ground  was   a  "  wafer "  or  thin   door. 

Fig.    355.     Diagramatic  .  '='  i  •  t  i  • 

viewofTruncata,cios-   It  appears  m  cascs  where  the  spiders  tube   is  not  made 
ing  her  burrow  with    -^  ^j^^   ^^-^^,^  ^^^.    ^^10.1  the   outcr   door   is  sct   opcu,  thus 

her  abdonien.  '  r        j 

offering  an  attractive  place  for  insects  crawling  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  in  search  of  food.  They  enter  the  main  tube  and,  as 
they  pass  the  branch,  the  door  is  suddenly  thrown  open,  and  to  their  sur- 
prise they  are  taken  captive  and  made  a  meal  of  by  the  cunning  spider.  ^ 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Atkinson  is  correct  in  so  far  as  the  burrow 
of  the  Trapdoor  spider  does  serve  as  a  true  trap  for  the  capture  of  ants. 
Mr.  Moggridge  shows  this  in  the  case  of  Nemesia  coementaria.     (See  above, 

^  Entomologia  Americana,  October  and  November,  1886. 

^  Psyche,  Cambridge  Entomological  Club,  Vol.  V.,  July-August,  1888,  page  89. 


ENEMIES   AND   THEIR   INFLUENCE. 


417 


Chapter  XII.,  page  355.)  Mr.  Simon  also  attributes  this  use  of  the  tube 
to  the  ants  of  northern  Africa,  particularly  to  Dolichoscaptus  vittatus, 
which  drives  into  the  earth  a  horizontal  burrow  that  is  considerably  con- 
tracted and  bent  towards  the  end  in  the  form  of  a  little  cul  de  sac,  which 
is  full  of  the  debris  of  insects  upon  which  the  spider  has  fed.  In  one 
locality  this  insect  debris  consisted  almost  wholly  of  the  remains  of  Atta 
barbara,  the  well  known  harvesting  ant  of  Palestine  and  the  Mediterra- 
nean shores.^  I  do  not  see  that  the  two  facts  are  at  all  contradictory. 
The  use  of  the  silk  lined  burrow  as  a  decoy  for  curious  insects  in  no- 
wise hinders  it  from  being  also  useful  as  a  defense  against  enemies  of 
various  sorts. 

One  of  the  most  curious  examples  of  relation  of  structure  to  enemies, 
or  perhaps  of  the  reaction  of  hostile  environment  and  agents  upon  struct- 
ure is  found  in  a  Territelarian  spider,  Cyclocosmia  trun- 
cata.2  This  aranead,  according  to  Hentz,  dwells  like 
others  of  its  kind  in  cylindrical  cavities  in  the  earth. 
Though  many  specimens  were  found,  he  never  saw  any 
lid  or  closure  to  the  aperture  of  its  dwelling.  The  very 
singular  formation  of  its  abdomen,  which  is  as  hard 
as  leather  behind  and  is  truncated  to  form  a  perfect 
circle,  induced  Hentz  to  believe  that  when  in  danger 
it  closes  its  dwelling  with  that  part  of  its  body  instead 
of  with  a  trapdoor  or  lid.  This  conjecture,  of  course, 
needs  confirmation,  though  it  seems  not  im- 
probable; and  one  may  imagine  the  intellectual 
confusion  of  a  pursuing  enemy,  which  finds  its 
prey  suddenly  disappearing  within  a  hole  in 
the  ground,  but  which,  when  investigated,  pre- 
sents nothing  but  a  level  surface  where  cer- 
tainly a  hole  ought  to  have  been!  The  dorsal 
view  of  the  spider  is  given  at  Fig.  353 ;  the  side 
view  at  Fig.  354 ;  and  a  diagramatic  section 
view  of  the  creature  is  drawn  at  Fig.  355,  as  it 
probably  would  appear  when  closing  up  the 
opening  to  its  burrow. 

Another  mode  in  which  enemies  may  influence  the  formation  of  habit 
in  spiders  has  been  suggested  by  observing  the  manner  in  which  certain 
Theridioids  defend  their  cocoons.  Theridium  differens,  a  pretty  little  spi- 
der inhabiting  leaves  and  foliage  (Fig.  357),  which  makes  a  flossy  round 
cocoon  somewhat  larger  than  itself  (about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter), 
will  grasp  her  cocoon  in  her  mouth  when  annoyed  by  one's  finger  or  by 


Fig.  356. 


Fig.  357. 


Fig.  356.  Theridium  differens,  much 
enlarged,  grasping  her  cocoon  when 
annoyed.  Fig.  357.  Cocoon  nest  of 
same.    (Natural  size.) 


1  "  Etude  sur  les  Especes  de  la  Famille  des  Avicularidse,"  of  North  Africa.    Actes  de  la 
Soc.  Linn,  de  Bordeaux,  Vol.  XLII.,  1888,  page  11. 

^  Mygale  truncata,  Hentz,  Spiders  U.  S.,  page  16,  pi.  i.,  Fig.  1. 


418  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

disturbance  of  the  surrounding  foliage.  (See  Fig.  356.)  Her  first  impulse 
at  the  approach  of  what  she  regards  as  danger  to  her  offspring,  is  to 
seize  the  little  ball  and  carry  it  away  to  another  part  of  her  snare,  or 
simply  to  interpose  her  own  person  between  it  and  threatened  peril,  or  at 
least  to  secure  it  by  her  own  personal  possession. 

Now,  it  has  already  been  shown  (see  pages  119,  120)  that  certain  spe- 
cies of  Lineweavers  have  acquired  the  habit  of  permanently  carrying 
about  their  cocoons  in  their  jaws  and  under  their  legs.  This  is  their 
method  of  protecting  their  offspring  from  assail  of  enemies.  The  same 
habit,  with  varying  methods,  prevails  with  certain  Laterigrades,  with  most 
Citigrades,  and  perhaps  also  with  some  Tunnelweavers.  May  it  not  be 
that  this  fixed  habit  of  protecting  cocoons  by  personal  possession  may 
have  originated  from  such  occasional  acts  as  that  common  with  Theridium 
differens,  and  which,  by  transmission  and  gradual  growth,  have  come  at 
last  to  be  characteristic  ? 


OHAPTEE   XIY. 

DEATH  AND  ITS  DISGUISES,  HIBERNATION  AND 
DEATH  FEIGNING. 

As  one  passes  through  the  fields  in  the  latter  part  of  September  or 
early  in  October  he  marks  the  cessation  of  activity  on  the  part  of  Ar- 
giope  cophinaria.  The  splendid  creatures,  whose  restless  vigor 
The  De-  jj^  spinningwork  and  ferocious  activity  in  capturing  prey  were  so 
A  ei  e  ^-PP^^^nt  a  few  weeks  before,  have  nearly  all  disappeared.  The 
males  have  gone  weeks  before.  Not  one  of  the  courtiers  that 
were  seen  hanging  around  the  outer  courts  of  their  lady  loves'  snares  has 
survived  the  mating  season.  Occasionally  one  notes  a  female,. a  shrunken 
remnant  of  her  former  self,  suspended  in  listless  mood  upon  a  tattered 
web,  or  crawling  sluggishly  around  the  circle  of  her  orb,  weaving  in  her 
spirals  as  though  spreading  a  table  for  the  last  banquet  that  life  affords, 

A  little  further  on  one  will  see  the  dead  forms  of  other  individuals  hang- 
ing in  various  postures  from  broken  snares,  or  from  tattered  remnants  of  the 
silken  shield,  or  from  snatches  of  cross  lines  dangling  from  leaves  and 
bowers.  Still  further,  as  one  moves  on,  he  sees  fragments  of  the  once  beau- 
tiful snares  stretched  out  at  various  points  between  the  grasses  and  branches 
of  low  lying  shrubbery.  The  strands  flutter  in  the  breeze.  The  great  cen- 
tral patch  of  white  silk  flaunts  like  a  tattered  banner  after  a  battle.  The 
radii  are  snapped,  the  spirals  have  lost  their  viscidity,  or  have  only  retained 
them  to  capture  hapless  insects  that  expire  without  even  the  poor  satisfac- 
tion of  helping  rejuvenate  exhausted  Nature  by  rendering  their  lives  an  of- 
fering to  the  vigor  of  another  creature.  The  race  of  Argiope  is  gone  for 
the  current  year. 

Where  are  these  noble  araneads  that  so  lately  brightened  and  enlivened 
the  landscape?  They  have  crawled  away  into  various  nooks  beneath  em- 
bowering leaves  or  other  cozy  retreats,  and  there  have  woven  the  beautiful 
basket  like  cocoons  which  characterize  the  species.  The  last  force  of  life 
has  been  expended  in  this  act  and,  somewhere  near,  the  dry  and  shriveled 
corpse  of  Cophinaria  may  be  found  hanging,  after  a  little  while,  to  the 
threads  on  which  she  perished,  soon  to  be  washed  down  by  the  rains  of 
autumn  and  mingled  with  the  dust  beneath.  When  the  warmth  of  spring 
has  once  more  revived  the  earth,  another  generation  will  issue  from  these 
cocoons  and  go  forth  to  follow  the  life  round  of  the  race  that  has  now 
passed  away.     This  record  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  Argiope  is  a  picture 

(419) 


420 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  358.    The  fashion  of  death.    Argiope  cophinaria  hanging  dead  in  her  snare, 
on  an  ampelopsis  vine  against  a  wall. 


DEATH   AND   ITS   DISGUISES. 


421 


of  what  one  may  everywhere  see  of  other  species  during  autumn  days, 
and,  indeed,  at  other  seasons  also,  for  the  limit  of  life  with  some  species 
is  reached  before  the  fall. 


I  have  heretofore  remarked   that  the  most  natural  death  of  the  spider 
is,  perhaps,  a  violent  one.     To  feed  the  hungry  maw  of  a  stronger,  more 
skillful,  or  more  fortunate  fellow  aranead  ;    to  be  paralyzed  and 
The  Fasn-  entombed  within  a  clay  sarcophagus  by  a  mother  wasp  and  serve 
^     ,,  as  food  for   a   growing  waspling  worm;    to  be  snapped  up  as  a 

delicate  tidbit  by  birds,  toads,  and  all  the  other  creatures  that 
prey  upon  her — these  are  some  of  the  modes  by  which,  in  the  appoint- 
ments of  Nature,  the  spider  meets  that  doom  which  must  befall  all  the 
living.     And  a  painless  doom  it  doubtless  is,  even  thus. 

But  there  are  some  that  end  their  life  by  what  we  commonly  call  a 
natural  death  ;  that  is  to  say,  tliey  do  not  perish  through  violence,  but 
cease  to  live  because  of  the  natural  exhaustion  of  vital  forces.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  matters,  among  the  many  difficult  ones  in  the  study 
of   spider   life,  to   find   an  unin-  ~  ^^-.^ 

terrupted  opportunity  for  consec-  ^ 

utive  observations  of  a  spider 
while  undergoing  this  fashion  of 
death.  But  I  have  been  fortu- 
nate enough  to  create  opportu- 
nities which  have  afforded  me 
satisfactory  results.  Most  of  the 
examples  studied  were  females  of 
Argiope  cophinaria,  which  I  had 
colonized  upon  the  vines  in  my 
manse  yard.  One  of  these,  called 
for  convenience  Prima,  had  oc- 
cupied a  position  upon  a  honey- 
suckle vine  for  several  weeks, 
and  highly  enjoyed  herself  cap- 
turing and  devouring  numerous 
flies  attracted  to  the  spot  from 
a  neighboring  stable.  The  first 
stage  of  mortality  was  simply  a  condition  of  inactivity. 

In  my  daily  rounds  among  my  pets,  I  noticed  nothing  peculiar  in  Prima 
except  that  she  seemed  to  be  hanging  inactive  behind  her  central  shield  of 
white  silk.  But  as  this  is  not  an  unusual  circumstance,  it  attracted  no  spe- 
cial attention  until  September  24th,  when  I  found  her  hanging  in  a  position 
that  at  once  indicated  disaster.  I  touched  her  and  tried  her  sensibilities 
in   various   ways;    but    she   was    dead.      She    had,    indeed,   evidently    died 


Fig.  359.    The  death  fashion  of  Argiope.    Position  of 
Prima  just  after  death. 


422  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

upon  her  web  unnoticed  by  me.  Now  she  hung  behind  her  orb  in  the 
position  represented  by  Fig.  359.  Only  a  scant  patch  of  the  central  shield 
remained.  One  hindermost  foot  was  extended  upward  almost 
First  straight  from   the   cephalothorax,    and   grasped   the   ragged   edge 

„^®®  of  this  patch.  The  corresponding  last  leg  on  the  opposite  side  of 
tality  ^^^  spider  was  outstretched  in  a  like  position  and  held  to  the  op- 
posite portion  of  the  ragged  shield.  The  third  legs  on  both  sides 
were  holding  to  straggling  threads.  The  second  legs  were  curled  forward 
towards  the  snare  behind  which  she  hung,  and  the  claws  held  to  cross 
lines  of  the  notched  zone.  The  first  pair  of  legs  hung  free,  and  were 
projected  through  the  meshes  of  the  snare.  Thus,  even  in  death  was 
maintained  the  habitual  position  of  the  creature  when  watching  for  a 
victim  or  an  enemy,  the  first  pair  of  legs  being  kept  free  in  order  to  feel 
towards  and  find  contact  with  an  object  of  desire  or  dread.  Between  the 
patch  of  silken  shield  and  the  parts  of  the  snare  immediately  beneath  was 
a  great  gap,  the  size  of  the  spider's  body,  which,  had  evidently  been  pro- 
duced by  the  weight  of  the  creature  as  she  hung  downward.  The  whole 
web,  indeed,  was  relaxed  in  all  its  remaining  parts.  The  abdomen  of  the 
spider  hung  downward  at  an  inclination  from  the  cephalothorax  of  perhaps 
forty-five  degrees,  in  which  position  it  was  held  by  a  trapline  attached  to 
the  spinnerets  and  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  ragged  shield. 

The  next  day,  September  25th,  the  position  of  the  spider  was  sub- 
stantially the  same.  September  26th  the  first  and  second  legs  were  bent 
over  towards  the  body,  and  the  claws  seemed  to  have  entangled  with  portions 
of  the  cross  lines.  The  palps  were  as  at  the  time  of  the  first  observation, 
one  stretched  out  holding  a  thread  by  the  palpal  claw,  and  the  other  bent 
over  a  line,  as  one  would  bend  his  arm  across  a  rope  by  which  it  was 
supported  at  the  bended  joint.  By  September  28th  the  web  which  had 
been  gradually  sinking  was  quite  sagged  down  behind  the  vines,  and  but 
few  portions  of  it  remained;  but  upon  lifting  the  leaves,  the  spider  was 
seen  hanging,  but  with  the  legs  considerably  more  procurved.  One  fore  leg, 
however,  was  still  stretched  out  straight,  and  held  to  the  drooping  line  by 
the  clasped  claws. 

There  is  little  to  detail  concerning  the  subsequent  history  of  the  deceased 
Prima.  I  watched  during  the  first  week  of  October,  and  saw  the  various 
.  .  .  I  „  fragments  of  the  orb  frayed  away  by  the  winds  and  rains,  which 
were  quite  severe.  But  the  corpse  hung  in  the  position  last  de- 
scribed, the  one  outstretched  leg  strained  to  high  tension  and  supporting 
the  whole  weight  of  the  body.  When  last  seen,  the  remaining  legs  were 
rigidly  bent  at  the  joints  and  clustered  together  over  and  around  the  head. 
October  8th  the  spider  had  disappeared,  dropped  down  or  washed  down  by 
the  rains  into  the  mass  of  leaves  and  tendrils  below,  no  doubt,  although  I 
could  not  find  it.  Thus  the  chapter  ended ;  a  seemingly  quiet,  gradual, 
painless  death;  a  winding  sheet  among  the  leaves  like  an  ancient  Egyptian 


DEATH    AND    ITS    DISGUISES. 


423 


Fig.  360.    Death  fashion  of  Secunda. 


mummy,  and  a  sepulchre  amid  the  tangled  tendrils  of  fragrant  honeysuckle. 
Not  an  undesirable  kind  of  death  and  burial. 

The  second  example,  the  Secunda  of  my  notes,  hung  upon  an  ampe- 
lopsis  vine  against  the  chapel  wall.  I  quote  my  journal:  "  .  .  .  .  For 
two  days,  September  28th,  she  has  hung 
absolutely  inactive.  Yesterday  I  touched 
her,  and  she  only  slightly  moved  her  fore 
legs,  then  sank  back  into  position.  She  is 
entirely  natural  in  her  appearance,  and  no 
one  observing  her  would  suspect  that  any- 
thing is  the  matter  with  her.  This  morn- 
ing I  put  a  vibrating  tuning  fork  to  one 
of  her  legs,  and  the  only  sign  of  anima- 
tion she  gave  was  slowly  but  slightly  draw- 
ing the  legs  towards  her.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  this  act  would 
have  produced  the  wildest  excitement.  At  four  of  the  afternoon  I  repeated 
the  test,  and  action  seemed  to  be  a  little  more  decided.  The  fore  legs 
were  curved  inward,  and  an  hour  afterward  were  not  relaxed  again.  I 
then  touched  the  spider  with  my  finger,  and  she  drew  her  legs  up  a  little 

closer,  making  no  further  sign Sep- 
tember 29th.  Secunda  has  left  her  position 
on  the  shield,  crawled  along  the  stem  of  an 
adjoining  leaf,  and  is  hanging  with  her  back 
downward  and  her  feet  clasped  around  the 
stem  close  up  against  the  wall."  (Fig.  360.) 
For  a  week  thereafter  the  record  contin- 
ued with  little  variation,  except  that  Secunda 
would  shift  her  situation  a  little,  several 
inches  to  one  side,  and  above  or  below.  Once 
after  long  hunting  I  discovered  her  by  see- 
ing her  swing  down  by  a  thread  between  my 
hands.  She  dropped  six  or  seven  inches, 
climbed  up  the  thread  sluggishly,  and  re- 
sumed position  with  her  feet  clasped  above 
the  stem.  I  never  could  find  her  again.  She 
had  doubtless  nestled  out  of  sight  and  died 
in  the  fashion  she  had  habitually  maintained 
during  the  few  days  immediately  preceding 
her  disappearance. 

Another  example  may  be  cited  from  my 
journal.  It  was  followed  up  so  closely  and 
continuously  that  it  well  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  spiders  pass  away 
from  life.  The  animal  was  sixth  of  my  series,  and  noted  under  the  name 
of  Sexta.     She  was  transferred  from  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill  River  to 


Fig.  361.    A  dead  Argiope  hanging  in  her 
snare.    (Sexta.) 


424 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Sexta's 

Death 

Record. 


an  ampelopsis  vine  upon  the  outer  wall  of  my  manse.  For  several  weeks 
she  hung  in  the  normal  position  of  her  species,  frequently  changed  her 
web,  and  occupied  herself  in  the  usual  manner  of  spiders.  Dur- 
ing cold  weather  that  occurred  in  the  early  part  of  October, 
1888,  she  appeared  to  be  a  little  torpid,  at  least  was  decidedly 
inactive.  Throughout  those  days  she  would  move  her  legs  when 
touched  by  my  finger  or  by  a  vibrating  tuning  fork,  but  showed  little 
excitement.  The  last  evidence  of  activity  which  she  gave  before  passing 
into  a  lethargic  condition  was  to  move  slowly  to  one  end  of  her  snare 
from  the  centre.  The  next  day,  October  4th,  I  found  her  with  legs 
doubled  quite  over  certain  lines  of  her  web,  and  rigid.  There  appeared 
to  be  a  little  life  in  her,  but  on  the  following  morning,  October  5th,  she 
was  hanging  in  the  same  position  dead.  (See  Fig.  361.)  The  axis  of  her 
body  was  at  right  angles  with  the  position  in  which  the 
spider  usually  hangs;  that  is  to  say,  she  was  stretched 
crosswise  of  her  web.  The  limbs  were  all  bent  at  the 
middle  joints,  in  the  angles  of  which  the  linework  was 
looped.  The  spider' appeared  to  be  chiefly  sustained  in 
this  way,  although  some  of  the  feet  were  still  attached 
to  parts  of  the  snare. 

I  continue  the  description  by  extracts  from  my  note 
book  :  "  October  6th.  Sexta  hangs  in  the  same  position. 
October  7th.  Ditto.  October  8th.  Certain  lines  in  the 
web  have  given  way  so  that  the  fore  part  of  the  body 
has  dropped  downward,  causing  the  spider  to  hang  now 
in  her  natural  position.  (See  Fig,  362.)  The  two  pairs 
of  hind  legs  aj-e  stretched  out  to  their  utmost  extent,  and 
the  feet  hold  on  mechanically  to  threads.  The  fore  legs 
are  bunched  and  bent,  as  in  the  first  position,  with  very 
little  change.  The  weight  of  the  spider's  body  has  evi- 
dently drawn  out  the  two  hind  legs  by  which  she  is  sus- 
tained. October  9th,  9  A.  M.  Sexta  still  hangs  in  the 
above  position.  No  change  observable.  A  cold  morning  and  clear.  Octo- 
ber 9tli,  6  P.  M.  The  position  of  Sexta  is  now  changed.  The  left  hind 
leg  is  loose,  the  thread  to  which  it  held  having  been  broken  by  the  wind 
or  by  a  dropping  leaf.  The  claw  still  holds  to  the  line,  a  broken  frag- 
ment of  which  floats  out  from  one  side.  The  body  has  swayed  quite  over, 
and  the  abdomen  is  twisted  into  a  position  at  an  angle  nearly  forty-five 
degrees  to  the  perpendicular.  The  other  legs  remain  about  the  same,  ex- 
cept that  the  fore  part  of  the  body  is  swung  upward  and  to  one  side.  Its 
weight  is  largely  supported  on  the  one  outstretched  hind  leg."  (See 
Fig.  363.) 

From  this  date  and  up  to  October  22d,  Sexta  was  observed  every  day, 
morning  and  afternoon.     Although  high  winds  and  heavy  rains  prevailed 


Fig.  362.    Sexta  in  dying 
attitude. 


DEATH    AND    ITS   DISGUISES. 


425 


Finis!" 


After  Co 
cooning. 


during  this  period,  and  the  leaves  were  continually  dropping  from  the 
vine,  no  change  at  all  of  any  decided  character  occurred   in  the  position. 

The  lines  maintained  their  strength  and  tension.     The  next  day, 

however,    showed   a  change.      "  October   22d.    This   morning   the 
threads  of  Sexta's  web  have  relaxed  and  broken,  and  the  position  is  quite 

changed.     The  abdomen  is  shrunken  up,  a  mere  hard,  dry  shell 

October  24th.  Fearing  that  Sexta  would  be  carried  off  by  the  high  wind 
and  falling  leaves,  and  wishing  to  preserve  the  body,  I  removed  it  from 
its  lines,  and  the  shriveled  corpse  now  rests  in  my  collection  at  the  Phil- 
adelphia Academy  of  Natural  Sciences. 

I  have  observed  something  of  the  same  sort  in  spiders  kept  in  confine- 
ment  within   my  breeding  boxes,    where   I   had    placed   them   for   various 
observations,    particularly   to    secure   cocoons. 
I  was  sure  to  find  them  some  morning  lying 
upon  the  bottom  of  the  box,  quite  shriveled      ypf 
up   and   dead.     In   the   case  of   spiders  after  r^/'  '-^ 

the  act  of  cocooning,  the  process  is 

very  much   as   above  described,   so 

far  at  least  as  I  can  judge  from 
disjointed  observations  upon  various  species. 
Of  course,  those  spiders  which  make  several 
cocoons  remained  active  until  the  last  cocoon 
has  been  spun ;  but  with  those  who  make 
but  one  the  forces  of  life  seem  to  be  entirely 
or  largely  expended  in  the  act  of  maternity. 
After  a  little  while  the  creature  hangs  to  the 
maze  of  lines  within  which  her  cocoon  is 
usually  suspended,  or  to  some  bit  of  web  ad- 
joining, and  then  simply  drops  off  dead.  As 
she  lies  in  this  attitude  the  legs  are  usually 
bent  beneath  the  body  and  towards  the  mouth 
parts.  Sometimes  they  will  be  found  clus- 
tered close  together  just  beneath  the  mouth 
or  some  part  of  the  sternum.  The  abdomen 
frequently  shows  gaunt  and  shriveled.  In  the  case  of  the  spiders  above 
described,  who  had  not  made  cocoons,  the  abdomen  immediately  after 
death  was  sufficiently  plump,  at  least  not  shriveled.  Some  spiders,  after 
the  act  of  cocooning,  have  enough  energy  remaining  to  spin  a  web  and 
even  capture  prey,  but  with  the  Orbweavers  which  make  only  one  cocoon, 
this  is  the  exception  and  not  the  rule. 


Fig.  363.    Sexta  after  death. 


II. 

Until   lately  little  has  been  known  concerning  the   possibilities  of   pro- 
longed life  among  the  lower  orders  of  animals.     The  waste  of  life  is  great 


426 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


in  the  natural  conditions  surrounding  most  inferior  creatures,  so  that  tlie 
immense  fecundity  of  insects  and  araneads,  for  example,  is  abundantly 
checked.  I  have  counted  over  eleven  hundred  eggs  and  young 
spiders  in  the  single  cocoon  of  Argiope  cophinaria ;  yet,  though 
a  score  of  cocoons  may  hang  in  a  field,  one  will  scarcely 
find  as  many  spiders  as  cocoons  the  next  summer.  In  efforts  to  breed 
spiders  from  cocoons,  I  have  at  various  times  seen  colonies  numbering  from 


Limit  of 
Life. 


Fig.  364.    Argiope  cophinaria  hanging  dead  beside  her  cocoon. 

one  and  two  to  ten  hundred  dispersed  from  the  maternal  egg  nest  to  sur- 
rounding foliage,  of  which  during  the  year  not  a  single  survivor  could  be 
traced. 

Bee  keepers  are  well  aware  of  the  great  mortality  among  working  bees, 
caused  not  only  by  disease  and  accidents,  but  especially  by  those  enemies 
which  prey  upon  them.  Ants  are  quite  as  much,  perhaps  even  more 
exposed  to  loss  from  accidents,  the  exigencies  of  weather,  and  the  appetites 


DEATH  AND   ITS   DISGUISES.  427 

of  various  insectivorous  animals.  There  is,  therefore,  abundant  occasion 
for  the  seemingly  exhaustless  fertility  of  the  queen  mothers  of  formicaries. 
Tliese  queens  probably  have  a  longer  life  than  the  workers.  They  are 
larger  in  size  and  apparently  organized  for  more  vigorous  resistance  of  the 
influences  which  work  for  their  destruction.  Moreover,  the  instinct  of 
the  workers  has  provided  a  system  of  preservation  by  surrounding  the 
queen  with  a  guard  of  attendants  which  never  leave  her  unprotected,  which 
care  for  all  her  wants,  and  vigilantly  separate  her,  by  a  regular  system  of 
seclusion  within  the  portals  of  the  formicary,  from  many  influences  which 
would  prove  hostile  to  health  and  fatal  to  life. 

How  long  the  ant  queen  may  live  in  an  entirely  natural  habitat  is  un- 
known,  and   perhaps  cannot  be    determined.      But    recently,   through   the 
patience  and  ingenuity  of    Sir  John  Lubbock,  we  have  learned 

^^"'  that  under  artificial  protection  both  workers  and  queens  of  certain 

bock's  •  •  • 

Old  A  t    sp^^i^s  ^^^y  attain  a  great  age.     Some  eight  years  ago  I  had  the 

Queens,  privilege  of  visiting  this  distinguished  naturalist  at  his  country 
seat.  High  Elms,  Kent,  and  examining  under  his  personal  direction 
his  artificial  formicaries,  and  the  mode  in  which  they  are  preserved.  At  that 
time  I  saw  a  queen  of  the  Fuscous  ant,  Formica  fusca,  which  was  nearly 
eight  years  old.  On  the  last  day  of  July,  1887,  I  again  visited  Sir  John 
at  his  house  in  London,  and  on  inquiry  after  the  aged  queen,  which  I  sup- 
posed to  be  still  alive,  was  informed  that  it  had  died  the  evening  before, 
having  at  the  time  reached  the  wonderful  age  of  thirteen  years. 

I  was  permitted  to  see  this  venerable  queen  as  she  lay  in  death  on  the 
floor  of  one  of  the  wide  chambers  which  the  -workers  had  excavated  in  the 
soil  compacted  between  glass  plates  that  bounded  their  formicary.  She  was 
still  attended  by  a  circle  of  the  "courtiers"  which,  according  to  my  pub- 
lished observations,^  are  in  the  habit  of  watching  continually  upon  ant 
queens.  Some  of  these  attendants  were  licking  the  dead  queen,  or  touching 
her  with  their  antennae,  and  making  other  demonstrations,  as  though  solicit- 
ing her  attention  or  wishing  to  wake  her  out  of  sleep.  "  They  do  not 
appear  to  have  discovered  that  she  is  really  dead,"  remarked  Sir  John. 
And  so,  indeed,  it  seemed.  It  was  certainly  a  touching  sight  to  witness 
these  faithful  attendants,  surrounding  the  dead  body  of  one  who  had  so 
long  presided  over  the  maternal  destinies  of  the  colony,  and  seeking  by  their 
caresses  to  evoke  the  attention  which  never  again  could  respond  to  their 
solicitations. 

In  answer  to  a  letter  of  inquiry  concerning  the  life  of  this  queen  and 
her  companion.  Sir  John  wrote  me^  as  follows:  "As  they  had  lived  with 
me  since  December,  1874,  they  must  have  been  born  in  the  spring  of  that 
year.     One  of  these  queens,  after  ailing  for  some  days,  died  on  the  30th  of 

1  Honey  and  Occident  Ants,  Chapter  IV.,  page  41,  plate  vi.,  Fig.  29. 
^  Under  date  of  May.  10th,  1890. 


428  AMERICAN   SPIDERS  AND   THEIR   SPINNING  WORK. 


July,  1887.  She  must  then  have  been  more  than  thirteen  years  old.  I  was 
at  first  afraid  that  the  other  one  might  be  affected  by  the  death  of  her  com- 
panion. She  lived,  however,  until  the  8th  of  August,  1888,  when  she  must 
have  been  nearly  fifteen  years  old." 

This  longevity  is,  as  far  as  I  know,  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  in- 
vertebrate animals.  Such  experiments  as  the  above  clearly  indicate  that 
artificial  environment  may  have  a  beneficial  influence  upon  insects  as  well 
as  domestic  animals,  and  that  the  interference  of  human  intelligence  may 
be  a  preservative  fa(;tor,  as  well  as  a  destructive  one  in  the  lives  of  even 
our  most  lowly  organized  fellow  creatures. 

Early  in  the  year  1882  I  received  from  Dr.  Joseph  Leidy  a  specimen 
of  our  common  tarantula,  Eurypelma  hentzii.^  As  the  individual  seemed 
to  be  in  good  health,  I  preserved  its  life  in  order  to  gain  infor- 
'^^®  mation  as  to  its  habits  and  vital  endurance.     It  was   first  placed 

„  .?^  in  a  large  glass  globe  on  a  bed  of  earth,  where  it  was  kept  for 
more  than  a  year.  It  was  then  transferred  to  a  wooden  box 
made  with  glazed  sides  and  a  sliding  glass  door  at  the  top,  the  whole  be- 
ing eighteen  inches  long,  twelve  inches  wide,  and  ten  high.  One  end  was 
filled  with  dry  soil,  which  was  slightly  compacted  and  heaped  up;  the 
other  end  was  sparsely  covered  with  earth.  There  was  thus  presented  a  bit 
of  level  space  for  the  spider  to  burrow  should  it  be  inclined  to  its  natural 
tastes.  I  last  saw  it  early  in  July,  just  prior  to  my  departure  for  Eng- 
land. On  June  22d,  1887,  I  made  this  note :  "  This  spider,  which  has 
been  kept  ever  since  1882,  is  to-day  in  good  health.  It  is  on  the  outside  of 
the  earth  moundlet  in  its  box,  looking  hearty  after  the  winter's  fast.  It 
has  had  nothing  to  eat  since  October  last — at  least  eight  months — but  has 
had  water  freely.  Some  flies  have  been  put  into  the  box  lately,  but  I  do 
not  know  that  they  have  been  eaten."  The  spider  was  then  left  in  the  care 
of  Professor  Fronani,  who  for  several  summers,  while  at  work  in  the 
library  hall  of  the  Academy,  had  kindly  cared  for  it  during  my  absence, 
giving  it  water  and  feeding  it  with  insects,  particularly  grasshoppers  or 
locusts. 

On  my  return  from  abroad  I  was  met  at  the  Academj^  by  the  intelli- 
gence that  ray  tarantula  was  dead.  About  the  close  of  July  it  had  de- 
scended into  the  burrow  which  for  several  years  it  had  maintained  close  to 
the  side  of  the  box,  and  since  then  had  not  come  up.  Looking  into  the 
box  I  could  see  against  the  glass  the  fragments  of  a  moulted  skin  on 
one  side  of  the  cavity,  and  on  the  other  side  the  outlines  of  the  creat- 
ure's dead  body.     It  had  evidently  died  shortly  after  moulting. 

Reckoning  its  death  as  having  occurred  at  the  close  of  July,  1887,  the 

^  It  was  captured  about  the  beginning  of  April,  1882,  at  Hills  Ferry,  Stanislaus  County, 
California,  was  kept  in  a  bottle  without  food  for  two  weeks,  then  sent  to  Professor  G.  E.  H. 
Weaver,  at  Media,  then  a  student  in  Swarthmore  College.  Mr.  Weaver  fed  it  on  beefsteak, 
which  it  took  readily. 


DEATH   AND   ITS   DISGUISES.  429 


spider   was   five   years   and    three   months   in   my  possession.     I    have   not 
sufficient  data   to   estimate   accurately  the  rapidity  of  growth    in   this  spe- 
cies, but   judging  from  such  facts  and  indications   as  I  have  ob- 

,  ,  .  '  served  the  animal  must  have  been  from  eighteen  months  to  two 
la  s  Age.  ° 

years  old  when  I  received  it  from  Dr.  Leidy.     At  the  period  of 

its  death,  therefore,  it  must  have  been  at  least  seven  years  old,  and  may 
have  been  eight  or  more.  It  thus  attained  the  distinction  of  having 
reached  the  greatest  age  of  any  spider  known  to  science.  How  long  this 
species  and  members  of  the  Theraphosidse  generally  live  in  their  natural 
habitat  is  of  course  unknoM'n.  I  have  little  doubt  that  they  live  much 
longer  than  other  tribes,  but  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  is  not  usual  for 
them  to  reach  such  an  age  as  my  tarantula  "  Leidy."  In  its  case,  as  in 
that  of  Sir  John  Lubbock's  queen  ant,  human  protection  probably  pro- 
longed life. 

Other  observations  on  the  age  of  spiders  fall  in  with  this  indication 
of  their  vital  endurance  from  the  tarantula's  prolonged  age.  Blackwall 
kept  spiders  of  the  species  Tegenaria  domestica  and  T.  civilis  to  the  age 
of  four  years.  ^  Moggridge  made  a  calculation  of  the  age  of  Trapdoor 
spiders,  based  on  average  growth  in  nests  of  the  young;  for  he  established 
the  fact,  which  has  subsequently  been  confirmed,  that  a  young  spider,  in- 
stead of  abandoning  its  nest,  enlarges  it  with  its  growth.  He  concluded 
that  it  took  at  least  four  years  to  produce  a  full  size  trapdoor  nest,  and,  of 

course,  the  architect  must  be  at  least  that  old.^  The  most  recent 
Great  information  on  this  point  is  from  Mr.  Frederick  Enock.^  This 
.  ^  observer,    in   an  extended  and  inte'resting  communication  on  the 

habits  of  the  British  Atypus,  speaks  of  one  individual  which 
he  kept  over  three  years,  and  which,  judging  from  its  size  when  first 
captured,  he  puts  at  the  age  of  six  years.  Other  examples,  under  observa- 
tion for  more  than  two  years,  were  well  grown  when  first  transferred  to 
his  artificial  colony,  and  at  the  date  of  his  paper,  June,  1885,  were  still 
in  good  health.  He  ventures  the  inference  that  Atypus  is  about  four  years 
in  reaching  maturity,  then  retains  her  young  for  eighteen  months  under 
her  care  before  turning  them  out  to  shift  for  themselves,  and  after  that 
lives  in  vigorous  health  for  a  period  which  he  believes  may  sometimes 
reach  the  advanced  age  of  ten  years.  Thus,  a  spider's  life  may  vary  in 
length,  according  to  organization  and  surroundings,  from  a  single  season 
to  two,  four,  and  even  eight  or  ten  years. 

I  may  add  here,  as  in  the  same  line  of  research,  that  Dr.  George  H. 
Horn,  a  distinguished  authority  in  the  Coleoptera,  has  called  my  attention 
to  the  fact  that  a  female  of  Cybister  roeselii  was  preserved  for  eight  years 
of  continuous  life  by  Dr.  David  Sharp. 

1  Spiders  Gr.  Bt.  &  Ir.,  page  8.        ^  "  Harvesting  Ants  and  Trapdoor  Spiders,"  page  127. 
3  "Tlie    Life    History    of    Atypus    piceus  Sulz.,"    Trans.    Entom.    Soc,    London,    1885, 
page  416. 


430  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


III. 

If  one  will  go  to  any  woodside  or  other  spot  where  the  foliage  of  trees 
and  vines  has  been  amassed,  and  examine  one  after  another  the  withered 
leaves,  he  will  have  opened  to  him  a  new  and  interesting  chap- 
■R  vt^^  ter  in  the  life  of  spiders.  This  process  is  familiarly  known  as 
"sifting,"  and  it  is  an  admirable  method  of  collecting  in  the 
late  autumn,  winter,  or  the  early  spring.  Clear  away  the  mass  of  snow 
overlying  that  windrow  of  withered  leaves,  fill  a  generous  basket  full,  and 
carry  them  into  your  study.  Open  carefully  the  curled  leaves  one  after 
another,  and  you  will  find  a  number  of  spiders  of  various  species,  that 
have  found  their  winter  refuge  and  rest  within  these  seemingly  inade- 
quate receptacles. 

Here  are  Saltigrades,  nested  within  their  white,  thick,  silken  cells. 
Here  are  all  sorts  of  Tubeweavers,  Disderids,  Drassids,  A  galena,  Tegenaria, 
Dictyna.  Some  of  them  are  underneath  silken  cells,  others  clinging  to 
simple  strings  of  intersecting  lines.  If  the  weather  be  very  cold,  most  of 
them  will  be  found  quite  torpid ;  but  in  the  warm  atmosphere  of  the 
room  they  will  soon  renew  their  vitality  and  freely  creep  about.  If  the 
temperature  be  mild,  or  if  the  sifting  be  made  at  that  part  of  the  year 
which  lies  just  between  winter  and  spring,  the  spiders  will  have  recovered 
from  their  hibernation,  but  many  of  them  will  be  certain,  as  soon  as  they 
feel  the  touch  of  the  inquisitive  observer,  to  double  themselves  up  in  that 
strange  mimicry  of  death  which  marks  so  many  species. 

Such  an  examination  as  the  above  has  increased  my  surprise  at  the 
immense  host  of  spiders  that  must  be  preserved  throughout  the  winter  by 
nestling  under  leaves  and  forest  mold.  The  autumn  broods  of 
Hibernat-  younglings  here  find  refuge  in  numbers,  and  when  the  snows 
T  have   been   melted   away  by  the  south  wind  and   the   increasing 

heat  of  the  sun,  they  creep  forth  from  their  leafy  lairs  and 
enter  upon  the  active  duties  of  their  lives.  Nearly  all  species  in  all  the 
several  tribes  thus  find  winter  homes  in  such  places.  This  is  not  only 
true  of  the  woods  and  wild  fields,  but  of  the  lawns,  groves,  and  parks  sur- 
rounding suburban  and  city  homes.  When  the  bright,  soft  days  of  April 
come,  and  the  gardener  begins  his  annual  task  of  raking  withered  leaves 
together  and  burning  them,  my  heart  has  many  a  spasm  of  pity  at  the 
reflection  that  this  seemingly  harmless  and  necessary  work  is  the  holocaust 
of  millions  of  hapless  spiders.  Thus,  even  in  the  discharge  of  ordinary 
duties,  man  is  unconsciously  one  of  the  most  destructive  enemies  of  the 
children  of  Arachne. 

A  good  time  to  uncover  the  winter  habits  of  spiders  in  the  latitude 
of  Philadelphia  is  the  early  or  middle  part  of  April.  Frequently  there 
will  come  a  few  successive  days  of  warm  sunshine,  particularly  if  the 
preceding   winter  has  been   mild,   that   invite  the   Sedentary   spiders  from 


DEATH   AND   ITS   DISGUISES.  431 


their  lairs,  and  tempt  them  to  spin  their  first  webs.  These  webs  betray 
their  winter  quarters.  Here,  for  example,  along  these  hedge  rows  of  arbor 
vitse  are  a  number  of  round  webs  whose  proportions  indicate  ma- 
Epeira's  ^^j.^  weavers,  and  whose  construction  gives  the  experienced  eye  a 
-^  ^  ^  token  that  Epeira  strix  has  probably  spun  the  snare.  She  is  not 
upon  her  orb  at  this  hour  of  the  day,  and  is  doubtless  resting  in 
some  secluded  spot  near  by,  which  spot,  considering  the  season  of  the  year, 
is  almost  certain  to  be  the  den  within  which  she  hibernated. 

The  tyro  spider  hunter  would  vainly  search  along  the  hedge  row  for 
this  refuge,  but  certain  signs  which  experience  has  taught  lead  one  to  a 
particular  point,  where  a  larger  concentration  of  threads,  diverging  from 
the  foundation  lines  of  the  orb,  form  a  sort  of  guide  board  to  the  desired 
haven.  Follow  this  clue,  gently  separate  the  sprigs  of  foliage,  and  push 
aside  the  twigs,  and  one  will  see  a  few  inches  below  the  surface,  at  a  point 
where  the  branches  diverge,  a  mass  of  rubbish.  It  is  accumulated  between 
the  forks  of  the  twigs,  and  has  been  retained  in  its  position  by  the  same. 
These  leaves  have  dropped  from  the  bush  above,  and  have  drifted  in  from 
surrounding  plants.  It  is  possible,  also,  though  I  cannot  affirm  it,  some 
of  the  material  may  have  been  collected  by  the  spider  and  added  to  the 
nucleus  which  accident  furnished.  At  all  events,  here  is  a  lump  of  rub- 
bisli  as  large  as  a  hen's  egg.  The  whole  is  lashed  together  by  scant  threads 
of  spinningwork,  which  assist  the  office  of  the  encompassing  twigs,  and 
brace  it  in  its  place  at  the  point  of  juncture. 

If  one  thrusts  a  finger  beneath  the  mass,  a  slight  opening  will  be 
found,  which  is  manifestly  the  door  of  the  den.  Now,  with  fingers  or  scis- 
sors, separate  the  ball  of  rubbish,  and  lo  !  inside,  snuglj'-  ensconced  in  the 
very  heart  of  the  heap,  is  the  weaver  of  the  web  and  proprietor  of  the 
den,  our  interesting  friend  Epeira  strix.  Here  she  has  lived  throughout 
the  winter,  and,  as  she  is  entirely  mature,  she  must  have  been  well  grown 
when  she  first  went  into  winter  quarters.  One  day  (April  14th),  while 
walking  with  my  secretary,  we  found  a  number  of  these  nests  within  a 
short  space  in  the  precincts  of  Woodland  Cemetery,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Schuylkill  River.  Several  mature  females  and  one  mature  male  were  dis- 
covered, all  of  them  occupying  some  sort  of  a  den  of  miscellaneous  rub- 
bish, gathered  together  with  varying  degrees  of  efficiency.  With  the  com- 
pact roof  of  evergreen  leaves,  which  forms  the  outer  surface  of  the  plant, 
stretched  above  the  den  and  serving  as  a  screen  from  snow  and  frosts,  it 
is  evident  that  this  winter  nest  is  a  safe  or  at  least  sufficient  refuge  for 
the  Orbweaver. 

Another  favorite  winter  resort  for  spiders  is  the  stump  of  an  old  tree; 
another,  the  hump  of  earth  and  roots  which  marks  the  spot  where  a  tree 
has  fallen.  Every  hollow  and  cranny  forms  a  refuge  for  some  species. 
Favorite  spots  are  the  tubes  or  "casts"  beneath  the  soil  formed  by  decayed 
roots.     Tearing  away  the  earth  at  this   point,  for  example,   one  finds  the 


432 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


soil  penetrated  by  a  well  rounded  pipe,  whose  walls  are  protected  by  the 
outer  bark  of  a  root.  Only  that  remains.  All  the  rest  has  per- 
Other  ished,  leaving  a  long  tube  in  the  earth  wherever  the  root  had 
^^"  ^^  run.  Here  many  spiders  have  found  winter  refuge,  and  from 
the  mouth  of  one  of  these  natural  dens  a  full  grown  specimen 
of  Tegenaria  medicinalis  is  unearthed. 

Young  spiders  survive  the  winter  in  the  admirably  arranged  cocoons  pro- 
vided by  the  maternal  instinct.  But  early  in  spring  many  adults  of  both 
sexes  are  found  nearly  full  grown,  that  have  also  safely  weathered 
Wmter  ^j^g  Q^y^  months.  I  have  at  various  times  in  the  winter  col- 
L  a  s  lected  Epeira  strix,  and  have  found  the  species  adult  in  spring. 
Specimens  of  Strix  may  be  frequently  taken  during  winter 
months  from  rolled  leaves  within  which  they  have  withstood  our  hard 
frosts.  These  rolled  leaves  also  serve  for  nests  during  summer.  Dr.  George 
Marx  has  informed   me   that   on   the   capacious    Government   grounds   in 

Washington  City  he  often  sees 
such  curled  leaves  suspended, 
conspicuous  amid  the  verdure- 
less  branches,  and  has  learned 
to  recognize  them  easily  as  the 
winter  quarters  of  this  species. 
It  of  course  follows  that,  either 
from  purpose  or  by  the  acci- 
dental enwrapping  of  threads 
during  continual  journeys  back 
and  forth,  trailing  her  dragline  behind  her,  she  secures  the  leaf  from  falling. 
A  vast  colony  of  Epeira  sclopetaria  inhabits  the  boat  houses  grouped 
around  the  inlet  at  Atlantic  City.^  I  visited  this  colony  in  the  latter  part 
of  May  (1882),  when  the  season  had  been  remarkably  backward,  cold,  and 
rainy.  The  trees  on  the  island  had  not  yet  leaved ;  insect  life  had 
scarcely  appeared ;  in  short,  the  season  had  advanced  little  further  than 
the  first  of  May  in  ordinary  years.  The  inlet  colony,  however,  had  already 
appeared  in  large  numbers,  and  had  swung  their  orbs  between  the  timbers 
of  the  houses  and  the  piles  which  supported  them.  These  were  of  various 
sizes,  full  grown,  half  grown,  and  young  several  weeks  out  of  the  cocoon. 
All  the  cocoons,  which  were  thickly  laid  along  the  angles  of  the  joists  and 
cornices,  were  empty.  The  number  of  young  spiders  was,  however,  remark- 
ably small,  a  fact  which  I  could  account  for  only  on  the  supposition  that 
in  the  absence  of  the  usual  insect  food  supply  the  adults  had  been 
driven  to  prey  upon  the  young,  and  the  young  upon  each  other  to  an  un- 
usual degree. 

Many  of  these  spiders  were  hanging  in  the  centre  of  their  round  snares. 


Fig.  365.    Arched  shelter  tent  for  winter  service. 


1  See  page  232  and  Fig.  25G. 


DEATH   AND    ITS   DISGUISES. 


433 


Orb 

weavers 


Others,  the  greater  part  indeed,  were  covered  within  a  thick  tubular  or 
rather  arched  screen  (Fig.  365),  open  at  both  ends,  which  was  bent  in  the 
angles  of  tlie  woodwork,  or  were  sheltered  beneath  an  irregular  rectangular 
silken  patch  (Fig.  366)  stretched  across  a  corner.  Many  others  were  bur- 
rowed behind  cocoons  quite  covered  up  by  their  thick,  flossy  fibre,  in 
which  condition  they  had  undoubtedly  spent  the  winter.  I  have  found 
examples  of  Epeira  strix  blanketed  in  precisely  the  same  way  during  the 
winter  months.  I  asked  some  of  the  young  boatmen  what  the  spiders  did 
in  the  wintertime.  "They  crawl  into  their  bags,"  one  answered,  referring 
to  the  screens  and  tubes  above  described  (Figs.  365  and  366),  "and  stay 
there.  They  came  out  about  a  month  ago  (the  last  of  April),  and  then 
shed.  A  couple  of  weeks  ago  the  sides  of  the  houses  were  all  covered 
with  these  sheds."  "  Shed,"  it  should  be  understood,  is  vernacular  for 
"  moulted  "  or  "  moult." 

English  spiders  have  like  habits.  Epeira  apoclisa  frequents  gorse,  heath, 
and  rank  herbage  growing  near  marshes,  lakes,  pools,  and  brooks,  or 
other  damp  situations,  among  which  it  constructs  a  dome  shaped 
Eng-hsh  qqY[  of  white  silk  of  compact  texture.  In  this  cell,  after  distrib- 
uting upon  its  exterior  surface  the  withered  leaves  of  plants, 
and  enclosing  its  entrance  with  a  tissue  of  silk,  the  spider  passes 
the  winter  in  a  state  of  tor- 
pidity. ^  It  is  said  that  Apo- 
clisa possesses  the  power  of 
closing  the  door  of  her  nest 
against  intruders  by  seizing 
the  sides  with  its  claws.  The 
eggs  are  placed  in  her  cell,  en- 
closed in  several  slight,  round- 
ish, yellow  cocoons  about  half 
an  inch  in  diameter.  Simi- 
lar nests  attributed  to  Epeira 
quad  rata,  although  Staveley^ 
thinks  the  deserted  nests  of 
Epeira  apoclisa  are  alluded  to, 
are  selected  by  the  dormouse, 
according  to  Rennie,  as  a  ready 
made  roof  for  its  nest  of  dried  grass.  That  the  old  spider  dens  are  not 
accidentally  chosen  by  the  mouse  appeared  from  the  fact  that  out  of 
about  a  dozen  mouse  nests  of  this  sort  found  during  winter  in  a  copse 
in  Kent,  England,  every  second  or  third  one  was  furnished  with  such  a 
roof.  ^ 


Fig.  366.    A  winter  bivouac  tent  of  Epeira  sclopetaria. 


1  Blackwall,  Spiders  Gt.  Br.  &  Ir.,  page  321. 
^  Rennie,  "  Insect  Architecture,"  page  109. 


2  British  Spider?,  page  230, 


434  .         AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


The  winter  habits  of  the  Retitelarise  are  various.  Many  of  them  creep 
into  hollow  trees,  into  holes  and  crevices  of  divers  sorts,  or  spend  the 
winter  under  fallen  leaves  and  in  vegetable  mold.  Many  of 
^i^®"  them    have    great    powers    of    endurance,  and    in    the   neighbor- 

^^rTrmf  hood  of  houses,  barns,  and  outhouses  may  be  seen  in  the  coldest 
Tribes  weather  simply  snugged  up  against  a  corner  or  angle  of  wall  or 
woodwork,  with  a  few  straggling  lines  beneath  them,  taking  the 
cold  weather  without  any  protection  or  attempt  to  secure  such.  Tube- 
weavers,  with  few  exceptions,  find  their  winter  homes  among  leaves  and 
forest  mold,  in  hollow  roots,  deep  crannies,  in  rocks,  underneath  stones, 
and  like  positions.  These  are  also  common  winter  resorts  of  Laterigrades 
and  Saltigrades,  although  they  prefer  lodgings  underneath  old  bark.  But 
the  latter  always  spin  around  themselves  a  tube  of  thick  silk,  which  serves 
them  as  a  blanket.  On  a  warm  day  in  winter  these  vigorous  little  creat- 
ures may  sometimes  be  seen  jumping  about  upon  the  surface  of  the  snow, 
having  been  attracted  by  a  patch  of  sunlight  pouring  upon  their  winter 
dens  to  try  their  fortunes  at  winter  hunting. 

The  Lycosids,  without  exception,  as  far  as  I  know,  spend  the  winter  in 
earth  burrows.  One  example  of  Lycosa  tigrina  observed  by  Mrs.  Treat 
made  but  little  change  in  the  dome  shaped  covering  of  her  burrow  until 
November,  when  it  was  cut  down  level  with  the  ground,  perfectly  con- 
cealed with  leaves  and  moss,  and  held  firmly  down  with  strong  webs.  This 
covering  remained  until  the  following  April.  In  spring,  the  gardener,  not 
knowing  that  this  spot  was  set  apart  for  special  study,  raked  away  the 
leaves  and  rubbish,  preventing  observation  of  the  manner  in  which  Tigrina 
herself  would  have  removed  her  winter  covering;  but  in  a  few  days  there- 
after she  had  made  another  cover,  not  like  the  flat  winter  thatch,  but  more 
like  a  little  room.^ 

There  is  much  to  learn  concerning  the  life  history  of  Lycosids, 
and  it  may  be  yet  found  that  their  winter  life  shows  a  greater  activity 
.  and  variety  of  habit  than  has  generally  been  supposed.  It  is 
'  possible  that  they  may  not  remain  enclosed  within  their  bur- 
rows during  the  entire  winter  in  a  state  of  semihibernation.  Dr.  Allen 
Gentry,  a  careful  observer,  informed  me  that  he  observed  this  incident 
while  visiting  a  frozen  pond  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia.  He  cut  a 
slab  from  the  ice,  about  eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  bank,  and  was  sur- 
prised to  see  spiders  running  about  in  the  water.  They  were  passing  from 
point  to  point  by  silken  lines  stretched  underneath  the  surface  between 
certain  water  plants.  Several  specimens  were  collected,  but  unfortunately 
were  not  preserved.  They  were  supposed  to  be  Lycosids,  and,  from  Mr. 
Gentry's  description  of  the  eyes,  his  supposition  is  evidently  correct.  It 
is  a  remarkable  and  notable  fact  that  these  creatures  can  thus  live  in  full 


1  Am.  Naturalist,  August,  1879,  page  488. 


DEATH    AND    ITS   DISGUISES.  435 


health  and  activity,  within  the  waters  of  a  frozen  pond,  in  midwinter, 
and  so  far  from  the  bank  in  which  their  burrows  are  commonly  found. 
It  has  been  believed  heretofore,  and  doubtless  it  is  generally  true,  that 
Lycosids  winter  in  deep  burrows  in  the  ground,  sealed  up  tightly  to  main- 
tain a  higher  temperature.  But  the  above  observation  opens  a  new  and 
strange  chapter  in  the  winter  behavior  of  these  araneads,  as  well  as  in  the 
ampiiibious  nature  of  their  habits.^ 

IV. 

The   eifect   of  low   temperature  upon   spiders   was    observed    in   several 
young  specimens  of  Theridium  tepidariorum.     They  hung  on  a  few  short 
lines  to  the  plastered  wall  of  a  brick  building  on  my  premises, 
..  "the  plaster  being  laid  directly  on  the  brick,  forming  a  cold  sur- 

face. The  spiders  were  protected  from  wind  and  snow,  but 
wholly  exposed  to  the  frost.  On  January  14th  (1885),  with  thermometer 
ranging  from  20°  to  25°  above  zero  (Fahrenheit)  the  spiders  were  hang- 
ing motionless.  When  touched  by  the  tip  of  a  pencil  they  dropped  down 
in  the  usual  manner  of  their  kind,  holding  on  by  the  outspun  threads, 
which  reached  a  length  of  over  one  foot.  They  ascended  to  their  perch 
afterward,  and  crawled  over  the  roof  for  a  short  distance. 

At  a  temperature  of  18.6°  they  again  were  able  to  drop  from  the  perch. 
January  19th,  with  the  thermometer  ranging  from  17.5°  to  20°,  they  seemed 
less  active ;  one  individual,  when  touched,  dropped  about  one  inch,  another 
six  inches.  Four  hours  thereafter  they  were  suspended  in  the  same  posi- 
tion and  place.  As  the  natural  habit  of  the  creature  is  to  ascend  in  a 
moment  or  two  after  disturbance,  this  shows  that  the  frost  had  affected 
the  normal  energy.  One  of  the  specimens,  however,  on  being  gently  lifted 
upon  my  finger,  moved  its  legs  and  very  slowly  began  to  ascend.  Five 
hours  thereafter  it  was  at  its  perch  against  the  roof.  These  spiders,  at 
this  temperature  with  some  variations  (January  21st),  moved  their  position, 
one  passing  along  the  angle  of  the  roof  a  distance  of  four  feet.  This 
change  of  site  was  probably  caused  by  the  annoyance  which  my  experi- 
ments produced.  . 

February  11th  the  thermometer  stood  at  zero;  in  West  Philadelphia, 
where  my  observations  were  made,  the  temperature  was  lower.  On  the 
12th  the  Signal  Service  reported  1°  above  zero;  at  my  house  it 
Sudden  ^^g  ^^low  zero.  On  this  day  I  removed  from  its  position  one 
,  , .  "of  the  specimens,  a  young  female  about  two-thirds  grown,  and 
placed  it  in  my  library,  where  the  temperature  was  summer 
heat.  She  was  put  upon  a  table  in  the  sunshine,  at  which  moment  her 
legs  were  drawn  up  around  the  cephalothorax  in  the  usual  hunched  way 
when  torpid  or  feigning  death.     There  was  a  slight  and  regular  pulsation 

1  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Philadelphia,  1884,  page  140. 


436  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  the  feet.  In  less  than  ten  minutes,  upon  being  touched,  she  stretched 
forth  her  legs  and  began  to  move  slowly  over  the  paper  upon  which  she 
had  been  placed.  When  touched,  her  motion  was  much  accelerated,  and 
she  began  vigorously  to  perambulate  her  bounds,  meanwhile  anchored  to 
and  pulling  out  after  her  the  usual  dragline.  When  lifted  up  on  the  tip 
of  a  pencil,  she  spun  out  a  long  thread,  to  the  end  of  which  she  hung  in 
the  little  foot  basket  of  silken  cords  which  I  have  elsewhere  described. 
Indeed,  her  action  w^as  in  every  respect  normal,  and  showed  a  remarkable, 
sudden,  and  complete  renewal  of  activity  after  so  long  an  exposure  to  such 
extreme  cold. 

February  26th,  a  younger  specimen,  about  one-third  grown,  hanging 
in  a  crevice  in  the  site  above  described,  when  touched  and  lightly  pressed 
down,  slowly  moved  its  legs  and  began  to  struggle  back  to  its  perch.  The 
thermometer  ranged  from  20°  to  25°  above  zero ;  on  the  day  before  the 
range  was  from  21°  at  7  A.  M.  to  28°  at  11  A.  M.  During  the  six  weeks 
over  which  these  observations  extended  the  temperature  was  unusually  low 
for  this  vicinity;  for  a  great  part  of  the  time  the  thermometer  stood  below 
zero.  The  month  of  March  following  was  unusually  severe,  the  thermom- 
eter frequently  reaching  winter  temperature.  On  the  1st  of  April,  how- 
ever, the  above  named  spiders  and  others  of  a  younger  brood  were  in  their 
webs,  hale  and   active,  having  been  drawn   out  by  the   first  soft  days   of 

spring.      It  would   seem,  therefore,  first,  that  the  hibernation  of 
one  u-     gpi(Jers,  of  this   species  at  least,  is  not  accompanied  with  a  great 

degree  of  torpidity ;  second,  that  they  preserve  their  activity  and 
spinning  habit  while  exposed  to  cold  ranging  from  freezing  point  to  zero 
(Fahrenheit) ;  third,  that  after  long  and  severe  exposure  the  recovery  of 
complete  activity,  when  brought  into  a  warm  temperature,  is  very  rapid, 
almost  immediate;  and,  fourth,  that  on  the  return  of  spring,  even  after  a 
prolonged  and  severe  winter,  they  at  once  resume  the  habits  of  their 
kind.  The  above  experiments  were  made  upon  Theridioids,  but  I  have 
made  like  trials  with  other  species,  as  Epeira  strix,  Dictyna  philoteichous, 
and  Eurypelma  hentzii,  and  the  results  vary  in  no  essential  particular. 

In  all  the  above  specimens  the  abdomens  were  full,  indicating  perfect 
health.  Other  spiders  hung  upon  their  webs  with  shriveled  abdomens, 
quite  dead,  among  them  one  of  my  specimens,  a  male  who  died  during 
the  course  of  observations.  A  Pholcus  phalangioides  hung  thus  dried  up, 
holding  with  a  death  grip  to  her  web  by  the  two  fore  pairs  of  legs,  which 
supported  the  cephalothorax  in  a  position  parallel  to  the  plane  of  the 
horizon,  while  the  long  abdomen  hung  down  at  right  angles  thereto,  and 
the  third  and  fourth  pairs  of  legs  were  drooped  downward  and  backward. 
I  could  only  conjecture  that  this  and  other  spiders  perished  by  the  cold. 
The  living  individuals  were  all  characterized  by  the  plump  abdomen,  as 
though  there  had  been  little  or  no  absorption  of  tissues  for  nourishment 
of  life.     There  appeared  to  be  no  growth  during  hibernation.    .  , 


DEATH    AND    ITS   DISGUISES.  437 


V. 

Many  spiders  have  the  habit,  which  belongs  to  certain  insects  and  pre- 
vails even  among  the  vertebrates,  of  feigning  death.  This  habit,  which 
is  common  among  many  species  of  spiders,  appears  to  be  par- 
„  .  .  ticularly  developed  in  the  Orbweavers.  One  who  touches  an 
'  Orbweaver  when  hanging  upon  its  web  will  often  be  surprised 
to  see  it  suddenly  cast  itself  from  the  snare,  or  appear  to  drop  from  it,  as 
though  shot  off  by  some  unseen  force.  Unless  lie  understands  the  nature  of 
the  creature,  he  will  be  utterly  at  a  loss  to  know  what  has  become  of  it. 
In  truth,  it  has  simply  dropped  upon  the  ground  by  a  long  thread  which 
had  been  instantaneously  emitted,  and  had  sustained  the  aranead  in  its 
remarkable  exit,  so  that  its  fall  was  not  only  harmless  but  its  return  to 
the  web  assured.  If  the  creature  be  now  examined  it  will  be  found  mo- 
tionless. Its  legs  are  drawn  up  around  the  body,  and  to  the  inexperienced 
eye  it  has  the  external  semblance  of  death.  In  this  condition  it  may  be 
handled,  it  may  be  turned  over,  it  may  be  picked  up,  and,  for  a  little 
while  at  least,  will  retain  its  death  like  appearance. 

It  has  been  conjectured  that  this  behavior  is  simply  the  result  of  fear, 
and  is  largely  beyond  the  volition  of  the  spider.  It  is  a  case,  in  other 
words,  of  what  has  been  called  kataplexy,  or  fear  paralysis.  It  is,  per- 
haps, difficult  to  disprove  this  theory,  but  I  can  by  no  means  accept  it.  To 
me  it  seems  a  case  of  genuine  " 'possuming,"  if  I  may  use  a  term  which 
was  commonly  applied  in  the  West,  during  my  boyhood,  to  characterize 
all  shamming  or  feigning  among  our  associates. 

Dr.  Preyer,  of  Jena,  has  published  his  experiments  on  animals  while 
under  the  influence  of  sudden  fright,^  the  general  trend  of  which  is  to 
show  that  unconsciousness  is  the  resulting  state.  I  do  not  know 
Preyer  s  ^j^^t  value  these  experiments  may  have  with  experts  in  that 
,  general  field  of  research,  but  I  cannot  accept  the  conclusion  as 

to  spiders.  Mr.  Campbell,  however,  appears  to  favor  the  theory.  ^ 
Examples  will  occur  to  every  one,  of  wild  animals  met  in  walks  through 
the  woods  or  fields,  suddenly  -pausing  as  though  the  fii;st  appearance 
of  a  supposed  enemy  had  shocked  them  into  inaction.  A  child  falls,  and, 
though  not  hurt,  loses  himself  for  a  few  seconds.  When  regaining  con- 
sciousness he  bursts  out  into  a  loud  roar.  Many  moths  never  attempt  to 
fly  when  touched,  and  the  white  ermine,  the  satin,  the  swallow  tail,  and 
the  mah  ghost  moth  will  fall  as  if  paralyzed  when  a  net  is  swept  under 
them  at  night  while  on  the  wing.  The  clouded  yellow  butterfly  will  drop 
as  if  lifeless  when  closely  pursued.  Many  species  of  beetles  are  inimitable 
death  feigners,  as  most   boys  know  who  have  any  knowledge  of  field  life. 

^  Samlung  physiologischer  Abhandlungen,  Zweite  Reihe,  Erster  Heft,  1878. 
^  Observations  on  Spiders,  page  46. 


438 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fi'i.  367.  Dorsal  view  of 
Labyrinth  spider  in  act  of 
death  feigning. 


But  it  is  needless  to  multiply  examples;  let  us  turn  to  the  animals  with 
which  we  are  here  chiefly  concerned. 

I   have  frequently  watched  spiders  in  this  condition,  to  determine  the 
point   in   question,   and    their  behavior    always  impressed   me   as   being   a 
genuine  feigning  of  death,  and  therefore  was  entirely 
within  their  volition.     The  evidence   is  of  such  an 
indefinite    nature    that    one    can    hardly   venture    to 
give  it  visible  expression,  but  my  conviction  is  none 
the  less   decided.     I  may  say,   however,  that  my  ob- 
servations indicate  that  the  spiders  remained  in  this 
condition  as  long  as  there  seemed  to  be  any  threat- 
ened danger;    now  and  again  the  legs  would  be  re- 
laxed  slightly,   as   though    the   creature   were    about 
getting  ready  to  resume  its  normal  condition,  but   at  the   slightest   alarm 
withheld  its  purpose  and  relapsed  into  rigidity.     The  slight  un- 
Not  Fear  clasping  of  the  legs,  the  faint  quivering  indications  of  a  purpose 
ara^sis,  ^^  come  to  life,  and  then  the  instant  suppression  of  the  purpose 
untary.      ^'^^'^  ^^  many  evidences  that  the  power  of  volition  was  retained, 
and   that  the  aranead  might  have  at  once  recovered  if  it  had 
been  disposed  to  do  so. 

Again,  I  think  that  I  have  never  noticed  anything  like  that  gradual 
emergence  from  the  kataplectic  condition  which  one  would  naturally  expect 
if  the  act  were  not  a  voluntary  one.  On  the  contrary,  the  spider  inva- 
riably recovered,  immediately  sprang  upon  its  legs,  and  hoisted  itself  to  its 
snare,  or  ran  vigorously  away  among  the  grasses. 

Two  positions  of  the  Labyrinth  spider  while  in  the  act  of  death  feign- 
ing are  here  presented,  from  a  number  of  sketches  made  from  Nature. 
Fig.  367  represents  her  from  a  front  view,  leaning  slightly  upon  one  side. 
The  two  fore  legs  on  the  further  side  are  doubled  under  the  face,  and  the 
feet  may  be  seen  projecting  on  the  opposite  side; 
that  is,  nearest  the  observer.  The  other  pair  of  fore 
legs  are  doubled  under  the  side,  the  feet  almost 
touching  the  third  and  fourth  legs,  which  are  bent 
in  a  position  quite  like  that  commonly  assumed 
when  the  spider  is  sitting  at  her  natural  rest.  The 
whole  attitude  appears  to  the  familiar  observer  en- 
tirely different  from  any  posture  during  'death,  and 
this  may  perhaps  be  seen  by  comparing  these  draw- 
ings with  the  death  fashions  shown  in  the  first  pages 
of  this  chapter. 

The  second  position  is  shown  at  Fig.  368,  giving 
a  view  of  the  same  spider  from  the  lower  part  of  her  body  while  resting 
upon  her  back.  The  fore  legs  are  all  bent  and  doubled  over  around  the 
mouth  parts,  the  feet  extending   almost  to  the  lower   end  of  the   sternum. 


Fig.  368.  Ventral  view  of 
Labyrinth  spider  while 
death  feig^ning. 


DEATH   AND   ITS   DISGUISES.  439 

The  third  and  fourth  pairs  of  legs  are  folded  in  an  easy  position  upon 
the  venter.  Applying  a  magnifying  lens  to  these  legs,  one  can  see  that 
they  are  connected  by  threads,  which  are  attached  to  the  spinnerets  in  the 
ordinary  way,  showing  that  the  aranead  is  by  no  means  unconscious  of 
and  indifPerent  to  her  usual  methods  of  escape. 

I  give  three- other  drawings  which  present  in  natural  size  three  positions 
assumed  by  Epeira  trifolium  while  death  feigning.  Two  of  these  (Figs.  369 
and  370)  represent  her  lying  upon  her  back  with  her  claws  doub- 
Tnfoli-  Iq^  ^p  jjj  ^j^Q  manner  previously  described  of  the  Labyrinth  spider, 
...  ,  "  and  showing  the  same  readiness  to  immediately  relax  the  limbs 
and  assume  the  ordinary  position.  The  third  drawing  (Fig.  371) 
shows  the  spinnerets  and  two  fourth  pairs  of  legs  holding  on  to  the  apex 
of  little  pyramids  of  threads  which  had  been  instantly  thrown  out  just  as 
the  spider  passed  into  its  death  feigning  condition.  One  third  leg  may  also 
be  noticed,  reaching  downward  to  the  spinnerets,  and  holding  on  to  a  line 
which  had  been  outspun  at  the  same  time. 

This  action  in  itself  seemed  to  me  sufficient  indication  that  the  spider 
retained   entire  control   of   her  faculties.      Instead   of   falling  at   once   into 


Fig.  369.  Fig.  370. 

Death  feigning  attitudes  of  the  Shamrock  spider. 

fright  paralysis  without  any  preparatory  efforts  at  protecting  herself,  she 
secured  herself  by  her  spinningwork  anchorages  from  being  carried  away 
without  her  knowledge,  and  gave  herself  the  means  of  recovery  to  natural 
position.  Of  course  the  period  of  time  between  this  act  of  self  protection 
and  the  assuming  of  the  death  feigning  attitude  could  scarcely  be  calcu- 
lated; yet  the  whole  behavior  showed  that  after  the  act  which  is  supposed 
to  have  induced  kataplexy,  and  between  it  and  the  kataplectic  attitude,  there 
was  this  deliberate  effort  to  secure  herself  in  the  ordinary  and  natural 
manner.  This  was  so  manifest  that,  on  observing  it  time  and  again,  I  was 
extremely  amused  by  the  manifest  stage  effects  of  the  aranead  actress,  and 
could  not  help  comparing  it  with  the  alleged  method  of  certain  women  ad- 
dicted to  voluntary  "fainting,"  who  are  said  deliberately  to  pick  out  the 
most  agreeable  spot  on  which  to  fall,  and  to  adjust  their  limbs  and  drapery  in 
the  most  graceful  and  convenient  manner  before  the  faint!  In  the  case  of 
the  Shamrock  spider  also,  as  with  Labyrinthea,  the  recovery  from  the  death 
feigning  attitude  into  natural  posture  showed,  in  the  transition,  the  marks 


440  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


of  entire  self  possession,  as  though  consciousness  had  never  for  a  moment 
been  lost. 

My  conclusions  in  this  matter  are  substantially  supported  by  the  ex- 
periments made  by  the  Peckhams,  which  are  recorded  quite  at  length. ^ 
These  naturalists  made  two  hundred  and  ten  experiments  on  this 
f*®  ,  subject  upon  spiders  taken  from  fifteen  different  genera,  and  their 
Studies  resulting  conclusion  is  that  no  spider  under  their  observation 
ever  fell  into  a  kataplectic  condition.  A  few  of  their  experi- 
ments may  be  quoted,  with  the  remark  that,  as  far  as  they  cover  the  spe- 
cies experimented  upon  by  myself,  they  are  confirmatory  of  my  results. 

One  of  the  best  death  feigners  is  Epeira  bombicinaria,  a  species  iden- 
tical with  Epeira  parvula.  A  pretty  little  female  was  softly  touched  as 
she  hung  in  her  web.  She  fell  two  feet,  and  then  swung  to  a  neighbor- 
ing branch,  where  she  crouched  motionless  for  three  minutes.  Being  again 
gently  touched,  she  fell  to  the  ground  with  her  legs  outstretched,  and  then, 
quickly  'drawing  them  in,  remained  clinging,  in  a  very  inconspicuous  heap, 
to  a  blade  of  grass.  Here  she  stayed  motionless  for  one  hour,  when  she 
was  placed  in  a  bottle,  carried  into  the  house,  and,  still  keeping  perfectly 
quiet,  was  shaken  out  on  a  table.  After  two  hours  she  was  pushed  by 
the  end  of  a  brass  rod.  Then  her  legs  were  lifted  one  by  one  with  a 
needle.  She  seemed  so  lifeless  that  they  began  to  wonder  if 
arvu  a  s  ^j^^^  j^^^  been  watching  a  dead  spider  after  all.  They  finally 
ming.  touched  her  with  the  point  of  a  needle,  but  at  the  first  sugges- 
tion of  a  prick  she  ran  rapidly  away.  She  was  knocked  over  as 
she  ran  and  remained  motionless  just  as  she  fell,  resting  on  the  cephalo- 
thorax  with  all  the  legs  drawn  closely  in,  excepting  one  which  was  slightly 
extended.  She  did  not  look  like  a  live  spider,  nor  like  a  dead  one,  nor 
like  anything  except  a  bit  of  bark  or  lump  of  dirt.  She  laid  thus  with- 
out a  perceptible  quiver  for  more  than  two  hours  and  a  half,  and  then 
suddenly  ran  away.  She  was  reduced  to  quiet  several  times  after  this, 
but  was  less  patient  and  endured  no  more  handling.  She  did  not,  usually 
lie  still  just  as  she  fell,  but  deliberately  gathered  up  her  legs  in  such  a 
way  that  they  were  indistinguishable  from  each  other  and  from  her  body. 
Another  example  of  remarkable  death  feigning  was  a  large  female 
Epeira  infumata.  She  was  put  into  a  tumbler  and  left  until  the  follow- 
ing morning,  when  one  of  the  Peckhams,  on  looking  at  her,  exclaimed 
that  she  was  dead !  Her  legs  were  drawn  up  and  bent,  and 
mata's  ^^^  looked  stiff  and  dry.  She  was  handed  from  one  to  an- 
Feigning.  other  of  those  present.  Her  demise  was  duly  regretted,  and  her 
wonderful  protective  coloring  was  remarked  upon.  She  was  then 
put  back  into  the  tumbler.  An  hour  later,  much  to  their  astonishment, 
she  was  found  moving  about,  alive  and  well.     As  they  were  experimenting 


^  Journal  of  Morphology,  Vol.  I.,  No.  2,  1887,  page  408,  sq. 


DEATH   AND    ITS    DISGUISES.  441 


at  this  time  upon  the  color  sense,  Infumata  was  placed  in  one  of  the  boxes 
of  colored  glass  described  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and,  at  intervals  of  one 
hour  during  the  day,  was  moved  from  the  section  in  which  she  had  set- 
tled to  another.  Every  time  this  removal  was  made  she  fell  stiffly  on 
her  side,  drawing  her  legs  in  and  remaining  thus  for  about  three  minutes. 
In  experiments  with  her  afterwards,  the  Peckhams  found  that,  when 
knocked  about  on  a  table,  she  would  stay  in  the  position  in  which  she 
fell,  although  this  was  often  an  uncomfortable  one.  She  showed  no  sign 
of  life  when  rolled  about,  but  jumped  up  at  the  least  prick  of  a  needle. 
She  never  remained  quiet  for  more  than  twenty-seven  minutes,  and  never 
absolutely  motionless  for  so  long  a  time  as  this,  there  being  slight  quiv- 
ering movements  of  the  legs  and  palps  at  intervals  of  three  or  four 
minutes.  ^ 

The  Peckhams  had  found  no  spider  that  would  endure  bad  treatment 
without  showing  signs  of  life,  until  they  experimented  on  the  Insular  spi- 
der.    When   put  on  a  table,  Insularis   acted   much   as  Infumata 

pi  er  j^g^  done,  but  had  no  such  rigid,  lifeless  appearance.  When 
she  was  knocked  or  touched  with  the  point  of  a  needle,  there 
was  a  convulsive  twitch  of  the  legs,  though  she  seemed  to  be  trying  to 
keep  quiet.  The  first  time  she  was  pricked  so  as  to  puncture  the  skin 
she  remained  motionless.  But  at  the  second  puncture  she  ran.  After- 
wards, from  both  males  and  females  of  this  species,  the  observers  obtained 
similar  results,  once  finding  an  individual  that  did  not  run  until  the  skin 
had  been  punctured  five  times.  When  the  needle  entered  the  skin,  there 
was  usually  a  twitching  of  the  legs,  which  Seemed  to  show  that  sensation 
was  present.  Outside  of  this  species  the  Peckhams  found  no  spider  that 
would  endure  a  puncture  of  the  skin  without  running  away,  and  they 
rarely  found  one  that  would  keep  quiet  while  being  handled. ^ 

Such  a  remarkable  instinct  as  that  of  death  feigning  did  not,  of  course, 

escape  the  observation  of  such  an  incomparable  naturalist  as  Darwin.     He 

tells  us  ^  that  he  carefully  noted  the  simulated  positions  of  sev- 

arwins  gj^^g^j^  different  kinds  of  insects,  including  among  them  a  spider. 

These  belonged   to  the  most  distinct  genera,  both  poor  and  first 

rate  shammers.     He  afterwards  procured  naturally  dead  specimens  of  some 

of  these  insects,  and  others  he  killed  with  camphor  by  an  easy,  slow  death. 

The  result  was  that  in  no  one  instance  was  the  attitude  exactly  the  same, 

and  in  several  instances  the  attitude  of  the  feigners  and   the  really  dead 

were  as  unlike  as  they  possibly  could  be. 

The  Peckhams  in  the  course  of  their  experiments  received  the  impres- 
sion that  the  habit  of  keeping  still  after  dropping  must  not  only  help  the 
spider  to  avoid  detection,  but  must  also   make  it  more  certain  of  finding 

^  Ibid.,  page  410.  ^  Ibid.,  page  410. 

^  Essay  on  Instinct,  Appendix  to  Mental  Evolution  of  Animals,  by  G.  J.  Romanes, 
page  363. 


442  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


its  way  home  after  the  danger  is  over.  There  would  thus  be  a  double 
advantage  in  absolute  quiet.  ^  It  will  be  remembered  that  as  a  spider 
drops  from  a  web  or  other  roosting  place  it  spins  a  line,  which  forms  a 
straight  path  backward  from  the  starting  point  to  the  stopping 
Origin  of  point.  It  can  thus  easily  return  to  its  snare  or  roost  by  means 
Death  ^£  ^j^.g  ^J.J^pljJ^g^  provided  it  remains  quiet  at  the  first  point  of 
'  stoppage.  But,  if  the  spider  moves,  its  trapline  becomes  a  drag- 
line, the  end  of  which  adheres  to  the  first  point  of  stoppage  ;  after  another 
short  interval  this  is  attached  to  another  point,  and  so  on,  to  another 
and  another  as  the  spider  moves. 

Now,  the  Peckhams  think  that  this  last  action  tends  to  confuse  a  spi- 
der, and  make  its  path  homeward  indirect.  In  this  view  they  seem  to 
think  themselves  justified  by  some  experiments  made  with  the  Labyrinth 
spider,  and  to  some  extent  I  have  no  doubt  they  are  correct.  But  I  hardly 
agree  with  them  in  the  importance  which  they  give  to  this  fact  as  em- 
phasizing the  theory  that  it  would  be  of  great  value  to  the  spider  to  re- 
main quiet  at  the  point  first  reached  after  dropping  from  its  web.  It 
seems  to  me  that  it  is  not  difficult  for  a  spider  to  return  by  its  dragline 
to  the  point  where  it  might  reach  its  dropline,  unless,  indeed,  it  should 
wander  far  into  the  mazes  of  leaves,  or  by  any  misfortune  its  dragline 
should  be  broken  and  thus  lose  its  trail.  The  truth  or  falsity  of  this 
view  is  interesting,  because  of  the  opinion  of  the  Peckhams  that  the  pos- 
sibility of  losing  itself  makes  it  much  more  to  the  interest  of  the  spider 
to  remain  quiet  at  the  place  it  first  reached  when  dropping  from  its  snare ; 
and,  further,  that  this  usefulness  of  the  quiet  attitude  may  have  been  the 
starting  point  from  which,  by  natural  selection  or  otherwise,  the  death 
feigning  habit  may  have  been  developed. 

The  matter  seems  to  me  to  require  further  test  before  one  can  posi- 
tively decide.  At  all  events,  the  Peckhams  accept  Darwin's  explanation 
of  the  habit  of  lying  motionless  as  the  result  of  natural  selection,  and 
that  it  has  been  acquired  by  diiferent  species  in  different  degrees  accord- 
ing to  its  usefulness  in  their  various  modes  of  life.  Thus  we  find  it  in  its 
greatest  development  among  the  comparatively  sluggish  Epeirids,  whereas 
it  is  badly  developed  or  lacking  in  the  running  or  jumping  spiders  which 
are  able,  as  any  one  who  has  pursued  them  will  testify,  to  move  with  as- 
tonishing rapidity.'^ 

In    connection  with    this    subject    the  '  question    naturally  arises    as   to 

whether  insects  show  any  sign  of  fear  in  the  presence  of  spiders.     Camp- 

bell  only  once  observed  an  attitude  in  a  fly  which  might  be  taken 

Flies  ^^  coincident  with  fright  paralysis.     The  fly  was  about  one  and 

a  half  inch  from  Tegenaria  domestica,  was  busy  cleaning  itself, 

when  suddenly  it  stood   motionless  in  the  very  act  of  rubbing  its  claws 


^  Op.  cit.,  page  413.  ^  ibid.,  page  417. 


DEATH    AND    ITS    DISGUISES.  443 


together,  until  it  was  shortly  afterward  seizedJ  Mr.  Belt  states  that  he  has 
seen  cockroaches  "retreat  in  full  haste  when  they  had  unexpectedly  ap- 
proached a  large  spider.  ^  I  have  already,  when  speaking  of  warning 
coloration  (page  340),  expressed  my  lack  of  faith  in  the  supposed  paralyzing 
influence  of  spider  enemies,  at  least  on  insects.  Of  a  vast  number  of  in- 
sects, especially  flies  and  grasshoppers,  fed  to  spiders  of  various  species  in 
captivity,  I  have  not  noted  and  do  not  remember  a  single  individual  that 
showed  the  least  evidence  of  fear  or  disturbance  of  any  sort.  Even  when 
placed  in  the  box  with  the  giant  of  the  order,  the  huge  Tarantula,  insects 
appeared  unaffected.^ 

These  observations  of  the  apparent  fearlessness  of  flies  in  the  presence 
of  their  natural  enemy  is  confirmed  by  Moggridge.*  He  habitually  fed  his 
captive  spiders  with  common  house  flies,  and  remarks  that  it  was  curious 
to  see  how  entirely  the  latter  were  wanting  in  any  instinctive  fear  of  even 
the  largest  spiders.  They  would  creep  between  a  spider's  legs,  causing  it  to 
start  as  if  electrified ;  and  frequently  it  was  not  until  a  fly,  after  repeating 
this  annoyance  several  times,  actually  walked  up  to  and  almost  touched 
the  fangs  of  the  spider  that  it  was  punished.  Certainly  such  facts  indi- 
cate a  lack  of  anything  like  fear  paralysis  or  consciousness  of  danger  on 
the  part  of  flies  in  the  presence  of  spiders. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  some  higher  animals  possess  the  power  of  vol- 
untarily assuming  the  external  form  of  death.  Numbers  of  well  authen- 
ticated examples  of  this  power  are  recorded  among  men.  Dr. 
Feigned     g  Weir  Mitchell  related  to  me  an  example  which  occurred  under 

.  his   father's   observation  many  years  ago  in  a  Chinese  port.     A 

Among  J   J  fs  ir 

Men.  Chinaman  came  on  board  for  purposes  of  barter,  and  made  him- 

self so  disagreeable  by  his  importunity  that  he  was  finally  or- 
dered to  be  put  off  the  vessel  into  his  boat.  He  resisted  the  order,  and 
as  it  was  being  enforced  fell  down  apparently  dead.  All  efforts  to  restore 
him  were  fruitless.  He  was  taken  ashore  amid  great  lamentations  on  the 
part  of  his  countrymen  and  friends,  and  of  course  damages  were  assessed 
upon  the  shipmen.  The  officers  refused  to  do  anything  unless  the  body 
were  brought  on  board,  and  it  was  accordingly  carried  to  the  ship  in  a  boat, 
and  laid  down  upon  the  deck,  still  maintaining  every  appearance  of  actual 
death.  The  officers,  whose  suspicions  were  thoroughly  aroused  by  this  time, 
still  refused  to  pay  the  demanded  recompense  until  they  had  made  some 
last,  severe,  and  satisfactory  test  that  the  man  was  actually  dead.  As  they 
were  about  to  proceed  with  this  test  the  supposed  dead  man  rose  to  his 
feet,  and,  with  grumbling  and  maledictions,  which  were  echoed  by  his  dis- 
comfited associates,  descended  to  the  boat  and  pulled  ashore.  The  self  hyp- 
notism in  this  case  was  so  decided  that  the  shrewd  American  observers 
were  for  a  long  time  thoroughly  deceived. 

^  Observations,  page  47.  ^  The  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua,  page  110. 

*  See  also  Vol.  I.,  page  256.  *  Trapdoor  Spiders,  page  246. 


444  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

Well    authenticated    cases  of    self    hypnotism,   far  more  striking  than 

these,  are  recorded  as  occurring  in  India.     One  was  seen  by  Captain  Os- 

born — a  fakir  who  buried  himself  alive  at  the  court  of  Runjeet 

be        yP' Singh  for  six  weeks.     Another  was  observed  by  Sir  C.  E.  Trev- 

nOTlfiTTl 

elyan,  of  a  fakir  who  buried  himself  for  ten  days.^  In  these 
cases  transition  from  the  normal  condition  of  life  to  the  appearance  of 
death  was  gradual,  but  was  undoubtedly  voluntary. 

Most  persons  are  acquainted  with  the  paralyzing  influence  of  fear,  or 
tlie  sudden  excitation  of  emotions  of  any  kind,  whether  sorrowful  or  joyful, 

upon  the  human  mind.     The  most  quick  witted  are  subject  there- 

Symp-        ^Q^  g^j^(j   persons  with  more   sluggish  intellect  are  even  more  af- 

oms  o       fe(.te(j   thereby;    but   the   symptoms  of   this   action,    so   far   as   I 

Paralysis  h^ve  been   able   to   study   them   in   human   subjects,  are   wholly 

different  from  those  which  I  have  observed  in  the  case  of  spi- 
ders. Of  course,  the  vast  difference  of  grade  between  the  two  creatures 
in  the  order  of  organization  and  intellect  may  be  considered  quite  suffi- 
cient reason  for  this ;  yet  one  might  be  excused  for  expecting  that  there 
would  at  least  be  so  much  of  analogy  between  the  two  as  to  form  a  basis 
for  judgment.  In  the  absence  of  such  analogy  I  must  adhere  to  my  opin- 
ion that  the  behavior  of  the  spider  is  a  genuine  case  of  voluntary  death 
feigning.  One  who  has  observed  the  process  will  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  Arachne's  histrionic  abilities  are  of  no  mean  grade. 

The  purpose  of  this  habit  is  undoubtedly  protective.  I  have  often 
been   deprived   of  coveted   specimens   by  their  sudden   exit  from   the  web 

just  as  I  was  about  to  seize  them,  and,  although  I  knew  thor- 
Purpose  oughly  their  habit,  and  just  where  to  look  for  them  in  the  grass 
Habit         beneath  the   snare,  I   have  frequently  been  disappointed   in  my 

search.  One  may,  therefore,  well  conceive  the  amazement,  or 
whatever  emotion  there  .may  be  akin  to  that  within  the  minds  of  lower 
animals,  that  seizes  upon  the  raiding  bird  or  wasp  which  darts,  with 
seeming  good  aim,  at  the  plump  prize  in  the  centre  of  the  snare,  and  finds 
beak  and  claws  grasping  empty  air  or  seizing  only  strands  of  the  still 
quivering  web.  One  might  carry  the  fancy  still  further,  and  imagine 
how  the  spider  from  its  grassy  shelter  must  laugh,  or  go  through  what- 
ever intellectual  process  may  be  analogous  to  that  action  in  the  spider 
brain,  when  it  thinks  of  the  discomfiture  of  its  enemy  as  it  flies  empty 
away ! 

When  we  come  to  think  of  the  origin  of  this  habit,  perhaps,  we  may 
be  justified  in  giving  some  place  to  the  theory  of  fright  paralysis;  ^  Pos- 
sibly the   success  in  escaping  hostile  attacks  experienced  by  some  remote 

^  See  observations  on  Trance  or  Human  Hibernation,  by  James  Baird,  M.  R.,  C.  S.  E., 
C.  M.  W.  S.,  London,  1850. 

2  Romanes,  Mental  Evolution  in  Animals,  page  308. 


DEATH    AND    ITS   DISGUISES.  445 


spider  ancestor  may  have    been  a  feeble  beginning  of  the  habit,  which 
gradually  was  developed  into  the  fixed  characters  which  we  now 
Origin        observe.     A  supposition  of  this  sort,  it  is  true,   has   no   facts  to 
jj  ,  ..  support    it,   but   is    in    accordance   with    prevailing    ideas   as  to 

the  evolution  of   many,  if  not  all  the   interesting  traits  in  ani- 
mal behavior. 

In  this  connection  one  may  perhaps  allude  to  the  remarlcable  sem- 
blance of  death  into  which  the  spider  involuntarily  falls  when  pricked 
with  the  sting  of  the  digger  wasp.  I  have  referred  to  this  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  and  quote  here  in  confirmation  a  remark  of  Mr.  Fabre,  de- 
scriptive of  the  condition  of  Lycosa  narbonensis  of  France,  after  being 
paralyzed  by  Pompilus  annulatus.     The  spider  is  immobile,  lithe 

_,  ,  .  as  when  living,  without  the  slightest  trace  of  a  wound.  It  is 
Paralysis.  "  ^ 

life,  in  fact,  minus  movement.     Viewed  from  a  distance,  the  tip 

of  the  feet  tremble  a  little ;  and  that  is  all.  One  specimen  disentombed 
from  a  wasp's  burrow  was  placed  in  a  box,  where  it  kept  fresh,  preserv- 
ing the  flexibility  of  life  from  the  2d  of  August  to  the  20th  of  September, 
a  space  of  seven  weeks.  ^  With  spiders  in  such  condition  there  is  really 
no  appearance  of  death.  They  are  unconscious  though  living,  and  there- 
fore make  no  sham  of  being  dead. 


^  J.  H.  Fabre,  Nouveraux  Souveniers  Entomologiques.     Studies  upon  the  Instinct  and 
Habits  of  Insects,  page  210,  1882. 


PART  VI.-FOSSIL  SPIDERS. 

CHAPTER    XT. 

ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND  THEIR  HABITS. 

The  interest  which  attaches  to  the  spider  fauna  of  the  present  era 
naturally  reaches  backward  to  those  of  geologic  time.  I  therefore  under- 
take a  sketch  of  the  fossil  remains  of  spiders,  with  particular  view  to 
gaining,  if  possible,  some  key  to  ancestral  habits.  The  material  for  our 
review  is  not  abundant,  but  fortunately  we  have  sufficient  data  to  give 
our  inquiry  an  intelligent  interest. 


According  to  Scudder,^  one  hundred  and  ninety  species  of  spiders  have 
been  discovered  from  the  Tertiary  deposits  of  Europe.  Mr.  Scudder  de- 
scribes thirty-two  from  America  in  his  work  on  the  Tertiary 
„  . ,  Insects,  of   which  fourteen  are  Orbweavers,  being   forty-four  per 

cent  of  the  whole  number  of  species.  The  proportion  of  known 
fossil  Orbweavers  in  America  is  much  greater  than  in  Europe. 

A  notable  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  spiders  of  Tertiary  Europe 
has  been  made  by  Gourret  in  a  paper  on  those  of  Aix,  in  which,  among 
others,  eighteen  species  are  described,  including  two  of  Erisoidse,  two  of 
Lycosoidse,  one  of  Theraphosoidse,  one  of  Dysderides,  two  species  of  Her- 
sillioidse,  two  species  of  Erocteroidse,  one  Enyoidee,  none  of  which  families 
had  been  before  found  in  European  rocks,  and  the  last  two  named  not 
even  in  amber.  ^ 

Of  the  fossil  spiders  of  Europe,  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  are  de- 
scribed from  enclosures  within  amber,  forty-one  only  from  the  rocks.  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  while  Europe  is  much  richer  in  spiders  when  the 
amber  fossils  are  included,  America  has  yielded  more  than  three-fourths  as 
many  from  the  Tertiary  rocks  and  one  from  the  Carboniferous. 

The  fossil  spiders  found  in  America  are  distributed  as  follows :  Salti- 
grades,  three  species  of  Attids;  Laterigrades,  three  species  of  Thomisids. 
Tubitelarise :  Dysderides,  one  species ;  Drassides,  five  species ;  Agalenades, 
two  species.  Retitelarise :  Theridides,  four  species.  Orbitelarise :  Epeirids, 
fourteen  species.^     Arthrolycosa  antiqua  is  probably  a  Territelarian. 

^  Tertiary  Insects  of  North  America,  pages  48-90,  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey  of  the  Territories, 
Vol.  XIII.  2  Ibid.,  page  52.  ^  Ibid.,  page  49. 

(446) 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS.  447 

The  discovery  of  fossil  spiders  on  this  continent  is  confined  chiefly  to 
a  single  point,  Florissant,  Colorado,  although  Green  River,  Wyoming,  and 

Quesnel,  British  Columbia,  have  contributed  some  specimens. 
«.,  The  remains    occur    in   a    series    of    lacustrine  deposits    formed 

within  an  ancient  lake  basin  which  lies  in  the  valley  of  the 
present  South  Fork  of  Twin  Creek,  and  of  the  upper  half  of  the  same 
after  the  South  Fork  has  joined  it.  This  ancient  Florissant  Lake  basin 
lies  among  a  series  of  low  wooded  hills  and  ravines  marked  by  an  irreg- 
ular L-shaped  grassy  meadow.  At  the  period  of  the  Oligocene  this  ele- 
vated lake  must  have  been  a  beautiful  shallow  sheet  of  fresh  water.  It 
was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  granitic  hills,  whose  wooded  slopes  came 
to  the  water's  edge,  sometimes,  especially  on  the  wooded  sides,  rising 
abruptly,  at  others  gradually  sloping,  so  that  reeds  and  flags  grew  in  the 
shallow  waters  by  the  shore.  The  waters  of  the  lake  penetrated  in  deep 
inlets  between  the  hills,  giving  it  a  varied  and  tortuous  outline.  Steep 
promontories  projected  abruptly  into  the  lake  from  either  side,  dividing 
it  into  a  chain  of  three  or  four  unequal  and  irregular  ponds  united  by  a 
narrow  channel  to  a  larger  and  less  indented  sheet,  dotted  with  numerous 
long  and  narrow  wooded  islets  just  rising  above  the  surface.  Along  these 
wooded  islands  and  indented  shores,  a  most  congenial  habitat,  the  spiders 
of  the  Tertiary  had  their  homes.  The  Orbweavers  and  other  Sedentary 
groups  hung  their  snares  among  the  branches  of  young  hickories,  oaks, 
birches,  poplars,  willows,  elms,  wild  roses,  sumac,  alder,  ferns,  catalpa,  and 
bignonia,  precisely  as  in  our  own  woods;  or  spread  them  among  the  blos- 
soms of  water  lilies  and  clumps  of  grasses,  reeds,  and  iris  that  thrust  their 
stalks  out  of  the  shallow  waters,  as  one  may  see  to-day  in  the  ponds  of 
New  Jersey  and  the  lagoons  of  the  South.  ^ 

The  promontories  projecting  into  this  lake  bed  on  either  side  are 
formed  of  trachite  or  other  volcanic  lavas ;   masses  of  the  same  occur  at 

many   different   points  along   the   ancient  shore.     They   seem   to 

Cause  of  j^^  confined   to   the  edges,  for  the   most   part,   but   some    of    the 

,  mesas,    or    ancient    islands,    have    trachite    flows  over   them,  and 

their  slopes  covered  with  quantities  of  vesicular  scoriae.  We 
have  thus  pointed  out  the  principal  cause  of  the  fossil  strata  whose  ex- 
ploration has  uncovered  for  us  these  pages  in  the  life  of  the  spiders  of 
the  Tertiary.  The  shales  of  the  lake  in  which  the  myriad  of  plants  and 
insects  are  entombed  are  wholly  composed  of  volcanic  ash  and  sand,  which 
lie  fifteen  feet  thick  or  more  in  alternating  layers  of  coarser  and  finer 
material.  '^ 

'  Lesquereux  identifies  these  as  among  the  plants  found  In  the  fossil  yielding  strata. 
The  genera  are  identical  with  the  corresponding  existing  plants.  U.  S.  Geolog.  Surv.  Terr., 
Vol.  VII.,  Tertiary  Flora,  1878.  Insects  and  spiders  are  usually  found  in  the  same  shales 
that  yield  the  plants. 

^  Paleontology  of  Florissant,  S.  H.  Scudder. 


448  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


These  insect  bearing  strata,  as  described  by  Dr.  M.  E.  Wadsworth,^  are 
brownish  and  grayish  brown  shales,  being  simply  the  finer  material  of  the 
tufas  laid  down  in  laminae  of  varying  thickness  and  coarseness.  This  vol- 
canic material  has  evidently  been  worked  over  by  water;  so  far,  however, 
as  can  be  judged  by  microscopic  examination,  when  the  water  commenced 
its  work  the  material  was  in  loose,  unconsolidated  deposits.  That  it  was 
thrown  out  as  an  ash,  or  rather  deposited  as  a  moya  or  mud  flow  near  its 
present  location,  is  the  most  probable  supposition.  The  deposition  ap- 
pears to  have  been  gentle  but  comparatively  rapid,  for  there  is  no  sign  of 
violence  or  even  of  such  decomposition  as  one  should  expect  in  slow  dep- 
osition ;  and  showers  of  ashes  falling  on  still  water  or  a  lake,  acting  on 
an   unconsolidated   tufa  bank,  answer   best  the  conditions  called  for  here. 

II. 

According  to  Lesquereux  the  numerous  leaves  of  some  of  the  species 
of  plants  are  not  crumpled,  folded,  or  rolled  as  if  driven  by  currents,  but 
flat  as  if  they  had  been  imbedded  in  the  muddy  surface  of  the 
Manner  bottom  when  falling  from  trees  or  shrubs  along  the  border  of 
°  ^  the  lake.  As  leaves,  seeds,  and  other  parts  of  a  plant  are  al- 
ment.  ways  intermingled  with  the  fossil  insects  and  araneads,  we  may 
conclude  that  their  entombment  resulted  from  dropping  along 
with  the  leaves  into  the  water.  It  will  be  remembered  that  many  spiders 
make  their  snares  permanently  among  leaves,  or  within  the  inner  sur- 
faces of  leaves,  so  that,  when  they  are  stripped  from  their  stems  by 
violence  or  natural  decay,  they  must  often  drift  from  the  banks  into 
streams,  and  if  overhanging  the  water  drop  directly  therein.  Others,  like 
our  Insular  and  Shamrock  spiders,  dwell  within  nests  of  curled  leaves, 
and  these  would  meet  the  same  fate  under  like  circumstances.  It  is  not 
now  uncommon  to  see  such  nests  overhanging  the  borders  of  streams  or 
woven  among  the  foliage  of  plants  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Supposing, 
as  we  have  a  right  to  do,  the  same  habits  prevailing  in  the  Oligocene 
period  as  the  present,  all  these  leaf  dwelling  species  would  have  been  ex- 
posed to  submergence  in  the  ancient  Florissant  Lake,  and,  being  imbedded 
in  the  mud,  some  of  them,  at  least,  might  be  preserved. 

Lesquereux  further  believes  that  the  deposition  of  the  vegetable  ma- 
terials took  place  in  the  springtime  and  that  the  lake  gradually  dried 
during  summer.  He  bases  this  inference  on  the  complete  absence  of  hard 
fruits,  together  with  the  presence  of  flowers,  of  unripe  carpels  of  elm  and 
maple,  and  of  well  preserved  branches  of  taxodium,  which,  in  the  living 
species,  are  mostly  detached  and  thrown  upon  the  ground  in  wintertime 
or  early  spring.  If  this  were  so,  there  would  have  been  far  fewer  mature 
spiders  at  that  season,  and  the  very  young  would  be  less  likely  to  fossilize. 


^  Scudder,  Paleon.  Floriss. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS.  449 

Scudder  thinks  that  the  structure  of  the  rocks  indicates  a  quiet  depo- 
sition of  the   materials   in  an  unruffled    lake   through  long  periods,  inter- 
rupted at  intervals  by  the  influx  of  new  lava  flows,  or  the  bury- 

o  came   ^       ^£  ^j^g  bottom  sediments  beneath  heavy  showers  of  volcanic 
Shcwers.       "  .  '' 

ashes.  1     That   many   insects   and   spiders   were   beaten   down  by 

these'  showers,  destroyed,  and   buried,  is  at  least  probable.     Certainly  we 

shall  not  go  far  astray  in  picturing  such  an  exigency  in  the  life  history 

of  the   disentombed   fossil   spiders   in   our   possession.     Thus  the   story   of 

Pompeii  was  enacted  among  the  aranead  inhabitants  of  this  upland  lake 

shore  in  the  distant  Tertiary. 

In  this  case,  every  season  must  have  added  contributions  to  the  im- 
bedded forms.  After  the  final  act  of  maternity  female  spiders  soon  die. 
They  may  often  be  found,  dried  up,  quite  dead,  hanging  to  grass  or  foli- 
age, whence  they  drop  off  with  the  leaves.  It  was  not  different  with  the 
fossils  of  Lake  Florissant;  they  dropped  to  the  ground  and  were  carried 
into  the  water,  or  dropped  directly  into  the  lake,  and  sank  into  the  muddy 
sediment,  and  were  buried  under  the  volcanic  mud  flow. 

By  a  process  somewhat  similar  the  spiders  of  the  Swiss  Miocene  ap- 
pear to  have  been  entombed,  these  soft  animals  being  preserved  only  in 
the  calcareous  marl  of  the  lower  Oeningen  quarry.  Twenty- 
„  .  ,  eigbt   species   have  been  uncovered,  of  which  one,  Epeira  molas- 

si^  Heer,  is  an  Orb  weaver.  ^  These  fossils  are,  for  the  most 
part,  small,  delicate  creatures,  belonging,  with  one  exception,  to  genera 
widely  represented  among  living  fauna.  Eleven  species  are  figured  but  not 
described  by  Heer,  whose  figures  are  repeated"  by  Hey  wood. 

Of  the  insects  which  fell  into  the  water  of  the  ancient  Lake  Oeningen, 
only  those  have  been  preserved  which  were  quickly  covered  by  the  mud, 
and  thus  saved  from  destruction.  Aquatic  insects  are  numerous,  and  are 
found  in  all  stages  as  larvae,  pupse,  and  imagines.  Many  were  so  rapidly 
enveloped  by  the  fine  calcareous  deposit  that  they  have  not  merely  pro- 
duced an  impression  in  it,  but  even  the  organic  substance  has  been  pre- 
served. By  this  rapid  covering  the  softest  midgets  are  so  admirably  pre- 
served that,  under  the  microscope,  the  hairs  of  their  legs  and  wings  can  be 
recognized,  and  the  color  of  the  land  bugs  can  still  be  ascertained.  Thus, 
in  Europe  as  in  America,  we  can  picture  the  local  conditions  under  which 
the  ancient  spiders  lived  as  not  very  different  from  some  of  our  littoral 
Atlantic  lakes,  as  Deal  Lake,  for  example,  or  those  of  Florida,  and  the 
lagoons  and  bayous  of  the  Southwest  Mississippi.  The  general  aspect  of 
the  landscape ;  the  forms  and  foliage  of  plants ;  the  flowers  and  the  insect^ 
that  visited  them,  like  the  spiders  that  made  them  their  prey,  must  have 
given  a  familiar  face  to  the  scenery. 

^  Paleon.  Florigsant,  page  298. 

^  The  Primeval  World  of  Switzerland.  By  Profes.sor  Heer.  Heywood's  English  transla- 
tion, Vol.  II.,  page  10,  1876. 


450  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


III. 

The  climatic  conditions  under  which  the  Florissant  spiders  lived  and 
died   are    established    by  a  testimony  which  is  quite  accordant,  both  from 

the  fossil  flora  and  fauna.  According  to  Lesquereux,  the  plants 
Climatic  indicate  a  climate  like  that  of  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf 
Oonai-       ^£  Mexico  at  the  present  epoch,  and  have  a  general  aspect  which 

recalls  that  of  the  vegetation  of  uplands  or  valleys  of  mountains. 
The  fishes,  according  to  Professor  Cope  (quoted  by  Scudder),  indicate  a 
climate  like  that  at  present  found  in  latitude  thirty-five  degrees  in  the 
United  States, 

Professor  Scudder  thinks  that  the  insects  from  their  general  ensemble 
prove  a  somewhat  warmer  climate.  He  refers  especially  to  the  presence  of 
a  great  number  of  white  ants  imbedded  in  the  shales,  a  testimony  that  is  con- 
firmed by  a  study  of  other  insects,  which  are  found  to  be  largely  tropical  or 
subtropical  in  their  nature.^  In  a  subsequent  brief  and  interesting  review 
of  the  Florissant  spiders,  and  comparison  with  those  from  the  European 
beds,  2  Mr.  Scudder  repeats  this  opinion.  He  considers  that  the  present 
distribution  of  the  allies  of  the  fossil  spiders  points  to  a  climate  like  that 
of  the  middle  zone  of  our  Southern  States,  or  the  two  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean  in  Europe.  However,  of  the  genera  which  he  cites  in  proof 
of  this,  only  one,  Nephila,  seems  to  me  in  point.  This  spider  is  undoubt- 
edly tropical.  I  have  a  number  of  species  from  Africa,  Zululand,  Mada- 
gascar, Liberia,  etc.,  where  they  have  an  enormous  development. 

Our  Gulf  States  have  one  species,  Nephila  plumipes,  which  is  abundant 
in  many  parts  thereof,  and  is  even  more  characteristic  of  the  spider  fauna  of 
Central  America  and  the  West  Indies.  As  it  has  never  yet  been  found 
in  the  United   States  outside  the  southern  belt  of  the  Southern  States,  the 

presence  of  a  closely  related  species  in  the  Florissant  shales  would 
j^    ,  .,       seem  to  be  conclusive  as  to  the  nature  of  the  climate  during  the 

period  at  which  their  fossils  were  imbedded.  The  specimen  pub- 
lished by  Professor  Scudder,  which  I  reproduce  (Fig.  372),  is  well  enough 
preserved  to  prevent  any  doubt  as  to  its  generic  identity. 

According  to  Scudder^  it  is  a  much  smaller  species  than  Nephila  plu- 
mipes Koch,  if  the  fossil  be  fully  grown,  and  differs  from  it  in  some 
striking  points.  The  eyes  differ  considerably,  although  the  position  of  only 
two  of  those  of  the  fossil  species  is  known.  The  corselet  is  squarer  in  the 
fossil,  and  per  contra  the  abdomen  is  oval  and  not  quadrate,  while  the  tarsi 
are  unusually  long  in  proportion  to. the  whole  leg.  The  tufts  of  hairs  occur 
only  on  the  extremity  of  the  tibia.     I  have  not  seen  the  fossil,  but  judging 

^  Paleontology  of  Florissant,  page  299. 

^  Fossil  Spiders,  Harvard  University  Bulletin,  No.  21,  page  303 ;  see  also  Tertiary  Insects, 
page  51. 

*  Tertiary  Insects  of  North  America,  page  90,  pi.  xi.,  Fig.  12. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND  THEIR   HABITS. 


451 


from  its  general  aspect,  as  displayed  in  the  figure  alone,  I  would  suspect 
it  to  be  a  young  female  Nephila  plumipes.  I  have  specimens  of  a  species 
collected  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Townsend,  at  Swan  Island,  Caribbean  Sea,  which  in 
size  and  general  appearance  more  closely  resembles  Scudder's  description  of 
Pennatipes  than  the  modern  Plumipes.  The  femoral  brush  is  lacking 
in  these  specimens,  as  it  is  in  Scudder's  fossil  (although  there  they  may 
have  simply  been  worn  away),  and  the  shape  of  the  abdomen  is  also  cylin- 
drical, as  with  Nephila  pennatipes,  instead  of  being  quadrate  as  with  our 
species.  We  have  thus  a  living  Orb  weaver  which,  as  far  as  it  is  possible 
to  judge,  differs  little  from  this  ancient  aranead. 

On  the  presence  of  this  fossil  species  alone  I  would  assimilate  the  climate 
of  the  ancient  Florissant  Lake  to 
that  of   a   region  even 
further  south  than  that 
assigned  by  Mr.  Scudder. 

Scudder  ^  describes  a  fossil 
Tetragnatha,  T.  tertiaria,  which 
he  thinks  does  not  appear  to 
have  any  special  affinity  with 
the  American  species  wdth  which 
he  has  been  able  to  compare  it, 
being  stouter  bodied  than  they. 
His  conjecture,  however,  is  hard- 
ly a  true  one,  that  the  presence 
of  this  genus  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  lake  deposits  of 
Florissant  indicates  a  warmer  cli- 
mate than  the  present.  Tetrag- 
natha, in  several  species,  has  a 
range  over  the  whole  of  the 
United  States,  and  I  have  fine 
specimens  from  as  far  north  as  the  borders  of  Alaska.  They  are  extremely 
numerous  in  such  a  climate  as  Philadelphia,  for  example,  where  we  have 
the  European  species  Tetragnatha  extensa;  and  along  the  margins  of  our 
ponds  and  waters  are  seen  immense  numbers  of  large  examples  of  the  Stilt 
spider  of  Hentz,  Tetragnatha  grallator,  which  is  probably  identical  with 
Tetragnatha  elongata  of  Walckenaer. 

A  study  of  the  spider  fauna  also  justifies  the  inference  that  the  climate 
of  the  Tertiary  period  in  Europe  was  essentially  the  same  as  that  of 
Florissant.  This  is  especially  strengthened  by  a  view  of  the  recovered 
insect  forms  of  the  two   continents.'^     Of  the  insects  in  amber   Mr.  Hope 


\ 


Fig.  372.    The  fossil  spider  Nephila  pennatipes. 
(After  Scudder.) 


1  Ter.  Ins.  N.  A.,  page  77. 

^  Recherches  sur  les  Insectes   Fossiles   des  Terrains  Tertiaires   de  la  France.    Par  M. 
Oustalet,  page.s  f>  and  38.    Bibliotheque  de  I'Ecole  des  Hautos  Etudes,  1874. 


452 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


states  that  they  are  extra-European,  many  belonging  to  tropical  and  tem- 
perate climes.  Dr.  G.  Mayr  thinks  the  amber  ants  have  few  relations 
with  ants  of  tropical  Africa  and  America. 


IV. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  this  connection,  that  a  comparison  of  the  fossil 
spiders  of  Europe  with   those  of  Florissant  shows,  on  the  whole,  a  general 
correspondence  between  the  two  fauna.     The   same   families   are 
Europe      represented  in  the  stratified  deposits  of  Europe  and  America;  and 
.        .        the  correspondence  holds  good,  to  a  considerable  extent,  as  to  the 
amber  species.     Among  Orbweavers  this  correspondence  is  not  so 
close,  but  obtains  if  we  confine  the  comparison  to  families,  and  is  true  in 
a  measure  of   the  genus  Epeira  and   its  near  allies.     Of  the  Oeningen  spi- 
ders one  is   an  Epeira.     From   the   Brown-coal   the   Gea  of   Von  Heyden^ 
is  an   Epeira   also,   according  to  Thorell.^     Of  the  Amber  species,^    Groea 
Thor.  (Gea  Koch  and  Berendt),  and  Antopia  (Menge)  are  near  Epeira;  Siga 

(Menge)  is  near  Zilla.  All  of 
these  belong  with  the  family 
Epeirinee.  Androgens  (Koch 
and  Ber.)  alone  probably  be- 
longs to  another  family,  the 
Uloborinse.  Scudder  divides 
the  Orbweaving  species  of  Flor- 
issant among  four  genera,  Epe- 
ira, Tethneus  (new),  Nephila, 
and  Tetragnatha,  all  Epeirinse. 
Thus  all  the  Orbweavers  in 
both  continents,  with  the  exception  of  Androgens  (if  Androgens  be,  indeed, 
an  Orb  weaver),  belong  to  the  same  family  Epeirinae,  and  most  of  them  to 
Epeira  and  closely  related  genera. 

The  above  comparison  also  shows  a  close  resemblance  between  -existing 
spider  fauna  and  that  of  the  Tertiary  both  of  Europe  and  America.  For 
p^gg.j.^^^  example,  the  Orbweaving  genera  Epeira,  Zilla,  Tetragnatha,  and 
Existing  Nephila  are  now  common  to  both  hemispheres,  are  all  found  in 
Fauna.  ^^e  United  States,  and  the  first  three  abundant.  We  should  con- 
sider, moreover,  how  closely  related  the  remaining  fossil  genera 
are  to  these  and  other  existing  ones.  Tethneus,  Gea,  Groea,  and  Antopia 
(Epeira),  Siga  (Zilla),  and  Androgens  (Uloborus)  can,  in  this  view,  scarcely 
be  said  with  confidence  to  differ  from   existing  Orbweaving  genera.     The 


Fig.  373.  Fig.  374. 

Fossil  spiders  from  the  amber.    (After  Berendt.*) 
Fig.  372.  Gea  epeiroidea.     Fi«.  373.  Androgeus  militaris ;  male 


^  Paleontographica,  Beitrage  zur  Naturgeschichte  der  Vorwelt,  Band  VIII.  "Fossile 
Insekten  aus  dor  Rheinisdien  Braun-k()lile,"  von  C.  von  Heyden.  Taf.  I.,  Fig.  11,  page  2. 
Gea  krantzi  Ileyd.    Fundort:  Rott,  Samndung  Krantz.         ^  European  Spiders,  page  2i3. 

'  Ibid.  *  Op.  cit.  below.  Tab.  III.,  Figs.  12,  17. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDEllS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 


453 


fact  may  be  readily  seen  by  comparing  Berendt's  numerous  figures  of  the 
well  preserved  amber  spiders  with  examples  from  corresponding  genera. 
(See  Fig.  373,  compared  with  Figs.  376  and  377,  and  the  full  page  cut 
further  on.) 

The  Florissant  fossils  are  of  course  no't  so  well  preserved,  but  some  of 
the  specimens  retain  their  characteristics  with  sufficient  distinctness  to 
compel  the  same  conclusion.  Scudder's  figures,  as  they  are  displayed  upon 
his  plate,  might  well  stand  for  good  drawings  of  a  miscellaneous  collec- 
tion of  damaged  specimens  of  our  living  spiders.  Compare  his  figure  of 
the  fossil  Orbweayer  Epeira  meekii,  for  example  (Fig.  375),  with  our  familiar 
Epeira  strix  (Fig.  376)  or  Epeira  insularis  (Fig.  377). 


Fig.  375. 


Fig.  376. 


Fig.  377. 


Oldest 
Knovm 
Spider 
Fossil. 


Fig.  375.    Fossil  spider  of  Florissant,  Epeira  meekii.     (After  Scudder.)        Fig.  376.    Existing   spider 
,    Epeira  strix  ;  male.        Fig.  377.    Existing  spider  Epeira  insularis ;  male. 

Turning  to  the  oldest  known  fossil  aranead,  Protolycosa  anthrocophila 
Romer,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  a  species  closely  related  to  exist- 
ing fauna.  (Fig.  378.)  Protolycosa  belongs  to  the  Carbonifer- 
ous, being  found  in  the  argillaceous  slate  of  Kattowitz,  upper 
Silesia.^  Fig.  379  is  an  enlarged  drawing,  and  Fig.  380  is  an 
outline  restoration  by  the  author.  Romer  placed  the  fossil  near 
the  genus  Lycosa  of  the  Citigrades,  which  rank  among  the  highest 
of  the  araneads.  Thorell,  on  the  ground  of  the  extremely  coarse  and  short, 
strong  legs  and  palps,  assigns  it  to  the  Territelaria?,  which  puts  it  within 
a  closely  related  group,  in  which  we  have  found  the  largest  existing  spiders, 
Theraphosoidae,  the  Tarantulas,  and  such  also, as  possess  the  highest  me- 
chanical instincts,  as  Trapdoor  spiders.  The  first  apparition  of  the  spider 
is  therefore  by  no  means  that  of  a  low  example,  but  one  rather  which 
presents  a  plenitude  of  faun'al  characteristics,  and  gives  the  possibility  of 
high  industrial  skill. 

Moreover,  Protolycosa    is  nearly  related    to    a    living  ,  species.     Thorell 
points  out  its  marked  resemblance  to  Schiodte's  wonderful  East  India  genus 

^  Neues  Jahrbuch  far  Mineralogie,  Greologie  und  Palaeontologie,  Jahrg.  1866,  i)ages  136- 
143,  Taf.  III.,  Figs.  1-3. 


454 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


Fig.  380. 


Fig.  378. 


Fig.  379. 


The  oldest  fossil  spider,  Protolycosa  anthrocophila.    (After  Romer.) 

Fig.  378.    The  spider  in  site.    (Natural  size.)       Fig.  379.    An  enlarged  drawing  of  the  spider. 

Fig.  380.    A  restored  figure. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND    THEIR   HABITS. 


455 


LiphistiuSji  and  for  this   reason   assigns  it  to  his  own  family  of   Liphis- 
tioidae.^ 

Among  the  oldest  fossil  spiders,  and  probably  the  oldest  in  America,  is 
Arthrolycosa  antiqua,  from  the  Coal  measures  of  Illinois,  described  by 
Mr.  Harger.3  As  the  horizon  in  which  this  fossil  was  taken 
American  ^^  synchronous  with  that  of  the  argillaceous  slate  of  upper 
Spider.  Silesia  in  which  Protolycosa  was  discovered,  this  American  spi- 
der has  the  distinction  of  being  one  of  the  oldest  as  yet  known 
to  science.  Its  true  determination  is  therefore  a  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance. The  aranead  has  generally  been  recognized  as  a  type  of  a  new 
family,  Arthrolycosidae,  as  first  established  by  Mr.  Harger.  Professor 
Scudder  placed  the  family  at  the  beginning  of  the  order  Anthracomarti. 
The  supposed  forcipulate  character  of  the  mandibles  was  considered  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  overcome  the  otherwise  general  resemblance  to  the  Ter- 
ritelarise,  but  this  characteristic  now  ap- 
pears to  be  without  sufficient  warrant. 

Professor  Scudder*  made  a  reexamina- 
tion of  the  type  in  1884,  and  decided 
against  the  forcipulate  character  of  the 
palps  as  described  by  Harger.  More  re- 
cently Prof.  Charles  E.  Beecher  has  made 
a  thorough  study  of  the  type  specimen, 
after  cleaning  it  and  exposing  the  append- 
ages by  removal  of  the  superincumbent 
matrix.  After  noting  the  differences  which 
the  study  of  the  specimens  under  these  con- 
ditions developed.  Professor  Beecher  con- 
cluded that  on  account  of  these  important  p,e 
differences  it  seems  necessary  to 
exclude  the  genus  from  the  order 
Anthracomarti.^     The  marked   resemblance  between  the  ancient 


Fl(i.  381. 


Fig.  382. 
381.    Fossil  spider  Arthrolycosa  antiqua. 
(After  Beecher.)       Fig.  382.    Profile  of  the 
same,  viewed  from  the  front.  (After  Beecher.) 


Arthro- 
lycosa 
antiqua 

Avicularidse  and  the  fossil  seemed  to  suggest  that  Arthrolycosa 

is  entitled  to.  a  place   in  the  suborder  Tetrapneumones,  among  the  Terri- 


^  "'Om  en  afvigende  Slaegt  af  Spindlernes  Orden."  J.  C.  Schiodte.  Natur  historisk  Anden 
Raekes  andet  Bind  Tidskrift,  1846-9,  Bd.  II.,  Rak.  2,  page  617,  sq.  Thorell's  reference  is  wrong, 
a  typographical  error  doubtless,  making  pages  6-7  for  617.  As  I  count,  he  also  errs  in  the 
order  of  length  of  legs,  which  is  4,  3,  2, 1,  instead  of  4,  2,  3,  1.  There  is,  however,  but  a  frac- 
tional difference  between  third  (17f§  lin.)  and  second  (17g5),  and  this  does  not  change  the 
force  of  the  inference.    The  species  is  Liphistius  desultor;  female.    Habitat,  Pinang  Island. 

*  European  Spiders,  page  222. 

*  American  Journal  of  Science,  1874,  Vol.  VII.,  pages  219-223. 

•*  Proc.  Amer.  Acad.  Arts  and  Sci.,  Vol.  XX.,  1884,  page  15,  "  A  Contribution  to  our 
Knowledge  of  Paleozoic  Arachnida." 

^  Note  on  the  Fossil  Spider  Arthrolycosa  antiqua  Harger,  by  Charles  E.  Beecher,  Amer. 
Journ.  of  Science,  Vol.  XXXVIII.,  1889,  page  219. 


456 


AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


telarise.  I  insert  a  fac  simile  copy  of  the  figure  published  by  Professor 
Beecher  (Fig.  381),  representing  a  dorsal  view  of  the  fossil,  and  (Fig.  382) 
a  bare  outline  when  viewed  directly  in  front.  From  the  figure  and  profile 
it  is  seen  that  all  the  limbs  of  the  spider  are  in  nearly  their  natural  posi- 
tion, having  undergone  but  slight  displacement  and  decay,  while  its  per- 
fection indicates  that  it  is  not  a  shed  skin  which  is  preserved,  but  that 
the  actual  animal  was  entombed.  It  throws  an  interesting  side  light  upon 
the  life  habits  of  this  creature,  to  learn  that  in  the  same  concretion  which 
contains  the  fossil  are  fragments  of  the  broad  leaves  of  a  rush  like  plant 
which,  as  Professor  Beecher  thinks,  probably  furnished  a  float  by  which 
the  spider  was  carried  out  from  land,  so  that  its  remains  are  found  min- 
gled in  the  same  bed  with  marine  organisms. 

In  this  connection  I  may  call  attention  to  another  fossil  spider  which 
has  been  supposed  also  to  belong  to  the  Territelarise.     While  visiting  the 

British  Museum  of  Natural  History  at  South 
Kensington,  London,  in  the  summer  of  1887, 
my  attention  was  called  to  some  fossil  spiders 
by  Dr.  Henry  Woodward,  Keeper  of  the  Geo- 
logical Department.  Among  these  I  observed 
one  which  seemed  new  to  science,  and  closely 
related  to  the  genus  Atypus.  After  my  return 
to  America,  Dr.  Woodward  sent  me  casts  both 
in  wax  and  plaster,  from  which  a  description 
of  the  species  was  made,  and  the  name  Eo- 
atypus  woodwardii  suggested. ^  The  fossil  is 
simply  an  impression  in  the  shale,  which,  how- 
ever, is  tolerably  well  preserved,  but  exhibits 
few  features  necessary  to  classification.  The 
eyes  are  not  defined,  and  nothing  but  a  little 
roughened  elevation  in  the  centre  of  the  caput, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  an  organic  cast, 
FiG^384.  Eoatypus  woodwardii.  Side  gives  any  suggcstiou  of  the  cyc  space.     As  far 

as  it  goes,  this  appears  to  follow  the  charac- 
teristics of  Atypus  and  the  Territelarise  generally.  The  appearance  of  the 
mandibles  also  suggests  this  relation,  and  the  general  facies  of  the  fossil  is 
to  the  same  effect.  The  drawings  have  been  made  from  a  plaster  cast, 
Fig.  383  representing  the  dorsal  view,  and  "Fig.  384  the  same  in  outline, 
both  magnified  three  times  natural  size.^ 


Fig.  384. 
Pig.  383.    Fossil  spider  Eoatypus  wood- 
wardii   McCook.     Dorsal  view.     X3. 


1  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1888,  page  200,  for  full  description  of  the  species. 

2  I  hesitated  much  as  to  whether  this  fossil  should  be  assigned  to  the  Lycosida?,  the 
Attidae,  or  to  Atypinse.  On  the  whole,  I  decided,  though  not  positively,  as  above,  and  on 
the  above  named  grounds.  It  seemed  impossible,  in  the  absence  of  the  characteristic  eyes 
and  long  jointed  superior  spinners  to  relegate  the  species  positively  to  the  genus  Atypus. 
Besides  expressing  the  general  facies  of  the  fossil  as  above  described,  the  generic  value  of 
the  name  Eoatypus  consists  largely  in  assigning  the  specimen  rank  as  a  fossil  spider. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 


457 


The  horizon  from  w^hich  this  fossil  was  obtained  is  the  Eocene  Ter- 
tiary, Garnet  Bay,  Isle  of  Wight.  It  is,  therefore,  probably  somewhat  older 
than  most  European  and  American  aranead  fossils. 

According  to  Scudder,  more  than  one-half  the  genera  of  known  fossil 
spiders  to  which  species  have  been  referred  have  been  described  as  new 
and  peculiar  to  Tertiary  times.  These  genera  include  about  two-fifths  of 
the  species.  Among  the  genera  are  some  remarkable  forms,  such  as  Archea 
and  Mizalia,  each  of  which  is  considered  by  Thorell  and  others  as  repre- 
senting distinct  families.^  Further  on  I  reproduce  Berendt's  drawings  of 
Archea  paradoxa,  to  illustrate  these  peculiar  forms. 


Fig.  385.  Fig.  386. 

Figs.  385  and  386.    Views  of  Palpipes  priscus,  a  fossil  crustacean  larva.    (After  Von  Meyer.) 

Two  genera  only  of  the  thirteen  to  which  the  American  species  are 
referred  are  described  as  new,  and  to  them  are  referred  seven  of  the  thirty- 
two  species.  Other  genera  not  before  recognized  in  a  fossil  state,  but  here 
recorded  from  American  strata,  are  Titanoeca,  Tetragnatha,  and  Nephila. 
To  enter  into  details,  seventy-one  genera  of  spiders  have  been  described 
from  the  Tertiaries,  sixty-six  from  Europe,  and  thirteen  by  Scudder  from 
America,  eight  genera  being  common  to  both.  Of  these  seventy-one  gen- 
era, thirty-seven  are  counted  extinct,  thirty-five  from  Europe,  and  two 
from  America,  none  of  these  extinct  species  being  found  in  both  countries. 
The  European  genera  are,  as  may  be  supposed,  largely  composed  of  amber 
species,  no  less  than  fifty-two,  including  thirty-two  distinct  genera,  being 
confined  to  amber  deposits,  besides  others  which  they  possess  in  common 
with  the  stratified  beds,^ 

Palpipes  priscus  ^  has  been  so  long  regarded  as  a  Jurassic  spider  that  I 
have  alluded  to  it  in  this  chapter,  but  that  it  is  not  a  true  spider,  but 


1  Thorell,  European  Spiders,  pages  223-233. 

^  Scudder,  Tertiary  Insects  of  N.  A.,  page  51.    I  do  not  here  include  Eoatypus. 

»  Von  Meyer,  Palaeontographica,  Bd.  X.,  pages  299-304,  Taf.  L.,  Figs.  1-4,  Cassel,  1863. 


458  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

a  crustacean  larva  appears  to  me  to  be  very  clear  from  an  examination 
of  the  figures  which  I  reproduce,  Figs.  385  and  386,  and,  indeed,  this 
has  already  been  shown  by  Seebach.^ 

V. 

It  remains  to  notice  a  little  more  definitely  the  geological  position  of 
the  fossil  spiders  of  America.  Professor  Cope,  in  view  of  the  character 
of  the  fish  fauna,  relegates  the  Florissant  deposits  to  the  later 
Geological  gQggjjg  or  early  Miocene. ^  Lesquereux,  judging  from  the  plants, 
osi  lono  j,g£gpg  ^Yi\s  deposit  to  the  lower  Miocene  or  Oligocene.^  This 
Spiders,  would  place  the  spiders  and  the  insects  of  these  beds  within 
the  same  horizon,  substantially,  as  those  of  the  amber  and  the 
Oeningen  and  other  Tertiary  strata  of  Europe.  Or,  as  Scudder  has  ex- 
pressed it,  "  We  may  therefore  provisionally  conclude,  from  the  evidence 
afforded  by  the  plants  and  vertebrates,  that  the  Florissant  beds  belong  in 
or  near  the  Oligocene."  The  evidence  derived  from  insects  and  spiders  is 
thus  in  harmony  with  that  from  vegetables  and  higher  animals. 

I  have  attempted,  by  the  following  tabulated  statement,  to  express  ap- 
proximately the  relations  of  the  Florissant  spider  bearing  deposits  with 
those  of  Europe  in  which  spiders  have  also  been  found. 

TERTIARY. 

Pliocene. 

!  Upper.    1.  Fresh  water  formations,  Oeningen,  Switzerland. 
Middle.  2.  Sulphur  impregnated  strata,  Radoboj,  Croatia. 
Lower.   3.  Brown-coal  strata  of  the  Siebengebirge,  Rhine. 
i4.  Florissant  Basin,  Florissant,  Colorado,  U.  S. 
5.  Amber,  Prussian  Baltic. 
6.  Fresh  water  formations,*  Aix,  Provence.* 
Eocene.  7.  Garnet  Bay,  Isle  of  Wight  (Eoatypus  woodwardii). 

CRETACEOUS. 

JURASSIC.  8.  Lithographic  limestone,  Solenhofen,  Bavaria  (Palpipes  priscus).* 

TRIASSIC. 
PERMIAN. 

{9.  Argillaceous  slate,   Kattowitz,  Upper  Silesia   (Protolycosa  anthro- 
cophila). 
10.  Coal  measures  of  Illinois  (Arthrolycosa  antiqua). 

1  Zeitschr.  deutgch  geol.  Gesellsch,  XXIIL,  page  340. 

2  Bull.  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Territories,  2d  series.  No.  1,  1875. 

'  Report  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  Territories,  Vol.'  7,  1878.  American  Journal  Science, 
XVII.,  page  279. 

*  Oustalet,  Recherches  sur  les  Insectes  Fossiles  des  Terrains  Tertiaires  de  la  France, 
page  36.  Oustalet  presents  the  various  views  of  geologists  as  to  the  position  of  this  forma- 
tion, from  which  I  have  placed  it  as  here. 

*  A  well  preserved  Theridioid  spider  from  Aix  may  be  seen  in  "Geology  and  Mineral- 
ogy," Bridgewater  Treatise,  by  Rev.  Wm.  Buckland,  D.  D.,  Vol.  II.,  page  79,  and  plate  46, 
Fig.  12,  Theridium  bucklandii  Thorell.  Gourret  has  recently  described  about  eighteen  Oli- 
gocene species  from  Aix.     Rec.  Zool.  Suisse,  IV.,  page  431,  1887. 

"  A  crustacean  larva,  see  above,  page  457. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 


459 


VI. 

The  fragile  nature  of  the  spider's  spinningwork  has  passed  into  a  prov- 
erb expressive  of  utter  weakness  and  ephemeral  age.     Yet  Mr.  Scudder  has 
uncovered  for  us  a  fossil  cocoon,  about  one-fifth  of  an  inch  long, 
Fossil        ^jjg^^  dates  from  the  distant  period  of  the  Oligocene,  and  which 
,  he  describes   under  the  name   of   Aranea   columbise.^      This   co- 

coon has  been  found  at  widely  separated  points — Florissant,  Green 
River,  Wyoming,  and  British  Columbia — and  thus  appears  to  have  had 
some  favored  environment  or  especial  qualities  inducing  preservation.  One 
might  suppose  that  the  large  cocoons  of  Orbweavers,  especially  those  with 
tough  encasements,  like  Argiope  and  Cyrtarachne,  or  the  large  flossy  silken 
ball  of  Nephila,  might  easily  have  been  fossilized  under  circumstances  that 
allowed  the  preservation  of  the  araneads  themselves.  None  of  these,  how- 
ever, have  yet  been  discovered,  and  the  little  Aranea  columbise  cocoons 
are  the  sole  representatives  of  the  spinningwork  of  the  aranead  weavers 
of  the  Tertiary.  Eleven  of  these  in  all  have  been  found,  and  the  survival 
of  this  minute  bit  of  cocooning  spinningwork  is  so  interesting  and  im- 
portant that  I  give  a  full  abstract  of  Scudder's  description  thereof. ^ 

Among   the   stones   obtained   by  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson  in  British  Co- 
lumbia are  several  containing  the  flattened  remains  of  the  egg  cocoons  of 
spiders.      There    are    no    less 

ossi  than  eight  of  them,  occurring 

Cocoons.  . 

by  pairs,  none  of  them  re- 
verses of  others.  They  vary  slightly  in 
size,  and  more  in  shape,  owing,  no 
doubt,  to  their  varying  position  when 
crushed ;  probably  they  were  globular, 
or  possibly  slightly  oval  in  shape;  av- 
eraging about  five  millimetres  in  the 
longer  and  four  millimetres  in  the  short- 
er diameter ;  of  a  firm  structure  ;  testa- 
ceous in  color,  and  hung  by  a  slender 
thread,  less  or  much  less  than  quarter 
the  length  of  the  egg  cocoon  (averag- 
ing, perhaps,  one  millimetre  in  length),  to  a  thickened  mass  of  web,  at- 
tached to  some  object  or  to  the  mother's  web. 

That  they  have  been  preserved  by  pairs  upon  the  stones  has  no  signifi- 
cance, and,  indeed,  may  be  due  simply  to  the  way  the  stones  were  broken, 
for  they  lie  at  varying  distances  apart,  with  no  sign  of  connection,  and 
placed  with   no   definite   relations  to   each   other.  ^     Two  of  them  show  no 


Fig.  387.  Fig.  388. 

The  fossil  spider  cocoon,  Aranea  columbise. 

Fig.  387.  With  the  pedicle  by  which  it  was 
suspended.  Fig.  388.  Much  elongated  by 
pressure.  Both  figures  are  enlarged  be- 
tween five  and  six  times.    (After  Scudder.) 


1  First  described  in  the  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada  for  1876-77,  pages 
463,  464.  2  gee  Tertiary  Insects  of  N.  A. 

*  Many  spiders  make  two  or  more  cocoons,  which  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  above  fact. 


460  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


sign  of  a  pedicle,  but  this  may  be  due  to  poor  preservation;  and  a  single 
one  not  only  has  no  pedicle,  but  appears  to  be  formed  of  a  lighter,  flim- 
sier tissue,  and  may  belong  to  a  different  species. 

The  egg  cocoon  of  a  spider  of  exactly  the  same  size,  shape,  and  gen- 
eral appearance  as  those  described  above,  excepting  that  from  a  break  in 
the  stone  there  is  no  trace  of  a  pedicle,  was  found  by  Scudder  in  the  shales 
at  Green  River,  Wyoming.  A  single  specimen  was  also  found  at  Floris- 
sant, Colorado,  having  the  same  general  appearance,  but  with  no  trace  of 
a  pedicle  and  slightly  larger  than  any  of  the  others,  being  six  milHmetres 
long  and  four  millimetres  broad.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  say  that 
it  is  the  same  species.  Still  another  was  brought  by  the  Princeton  ex- 
pedition from  Florissant,  different  in  the  opposite  direction,  being  con- 
siderably smaller  and  so  preserved  as  to  appear  broader  than  long.  It  is 
provided  with  a  pedicle  one  and  four-tenths  millimetres  long,  but  is  itself 
only  two  millimetres  long  and  two  and  a  half  broad. 

If  the  reader  will  turn  back  to  pages  114  and  115,  in  the  chapter  on 
General  Cocooning  Habits,  he  will  see  examples  of  cocoons  which  correspond, 

both  in  size  and  general  character,  to  these  fossil  cocoons  of  the 
o  em     tertiary.     Cocoons  of  Ero  thoracica,  for  example  (Figs.  Ill  and 

116),  are  represented  in  my  drawings  about  twice  natural  size; 
that  is,  they  are  about  one-eighth  inch  long,  or  a  little  over  three  milli- 
metres. They  are  suspended  by  a  thread,  from  various  objects,  in  a  man- 
ner which  is  suggested  by  the  character  of  Aranea  Columbian. 

Another  cocoon  represented  among  these  drawings  (Figs.  112,  113)  I 
there  attribute  to  Theridium  frondeum  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Marx.  A 
number  of  observations  made  since  those  pages  were  printed,  both  by  my- 
self and  my  secretary,  have  led  me  seriously  to  doubt  the  identification, 
and  to  believe  that  this  little  orange  colored  hanging  cocoon,  which  has 
so  long  puzzled  me  to  identify,  is  probably  the  cocoon  of  Theridiosoma 
radiosum.  We  have  found  it  a  number  of  times  hanging  close  by  the 
snares  of  females  of  that  species  in  Belmont  Glen  and  other  ravines  of 
Fairmount  Park,  and  in  the  country  surrounding  Philadelphia ;  and  no 
other  species  was  found  in  the  neighborhood  to  which  such  a  cocoon 
could  be  attributed.  I  am  therefore  inclined  at  the  present  date  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Ray  spider  is  responsible  for  this  pretty  little  egg  sac.  In 
addition  to  this,  I  have  examined  young  specimens  raised  from  the  cocoon, 
and  although  the  determination  of  a  species"  by  just  hatched  spiderlings  is 

well  known  to  be  extremely  uncertain,  yet  this  examination  has 
Thendio-  confirmed  me  in  the  above  opinion.  The  shape  of  cephalo- 
Cocoon      thorax  and   abdomen,  arrangement   of   eyes,  proportion   of    legs, 

and  general  ensemble  of  the  younglings  lead  me  to  conclude 
that,  if  they  are  not  Theridiosoma,  they  belong  to  no  species  with  which 
I  am  acquainted. 

In  further  confirmation  I  may  add  that  Dr.  L.  Koch  says  of  the  cocoon 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR    HABITS.  461 

of  Theridiosoma  gemmosum  that  it  is  pyriform,  pediculated,  of  yellow 
brown  color,  with  pedicle  white,  and  that  the  female  makes  her  cocoon  at 
the  end  of  June.^  This  description  well  agrees  with  the  cocoon  under 
question.  Simon  himself  says  that  Theridiosoma  gemmosum  is  found 
along  the  borders  of  waters,  making  its  snares  upon  aquatic  plants.  Its 
cocoon  is  in  the  form  of  a  balloon,  with  a  pedicle  like  that  of  Ero.^  As 
Theridiosoma  gemmosum  and  T.  radiosum  are  probably  identical,  or  at  least 
closely  related,  this  evidence  appears  to  be  almost  conclusive. 

I  have  measured  many  of  these  Theridiosoma  cocoons,  and  they  aver- 
age in  length  about  one-eighth  inch,  or,  more  accurately,  three  and  one- 
half  millimetres.  Their  width  is  a  little  less.  In  other  words,  the  cocoon 
is  almost  spherical,  but  the  addition  of  the  pedicle  or  stalk  makes  it  seem 
longer.  I  have  seen  some  cocoons  which  were  five  millimetres  long.  The- 
ridiosoma's  cocoons  are  closely  woven  and  of  tough  fibre,  well  fitted  for 
preservation.  If  now  we  compare  the  above  named  structures  with  Scud- 
der's  fossil  cocoons,  we  shall  find  a  close  resemblance.  We  may  therefore 
have  little  hesitation  in  relegating  Aranea  columbise  to  some  such  The- 
ridioid  genus  as  Ero  or  Theridium,  or  perhaps  to  the  ancestors  of  Therid- 
iosoma. The  Ray  spider  has  evident  relationship  to  Theridium,  as  appears 
from  the  fact  that  such  accomplished  araneologists  as  Cambridge,  Simon, 
and  the  late  Count  Keyserling  have  classed  it  with  the  Retitelaria?..  One 
might  therefore  venture  to  attribute  to  it  an  ancient  lineage,  and  even  to 
risk  the  conjecture  that  a  species  of  Theridiosoma  may  have  been  the  au- 
thor of  some  of  Scudder's  fossil  cocoons. 

The  preservation  of  any  spinningwork  ^;hrough  so  vast  a  period  is 
greatly  interesting ;  but  I  find  the  chief  value  of  the  fact  in  the  inference 
that  the  general  habits  of  spiders  have  followed  even  more 
Unmodi-  closely  the  law  of  unmodified  survival  that  appears  to  mark 
,     ,  the  general  structure  of   araneads.     Indeed,  I   am  not  able  here 

to  note  any  difference.  Precisely  the  same  industry  that  we  see 
everywhere  exemplified  in  the  pretty  hanging  basket  cocoonery  of  our 
modern  Ero,  Theridium,  or  Theridiosoma,  characterized  the  fossil  Aranea 
columbise  that  wrought  her  spinningwork  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Flor- 
issant in  the  early  period  of  the  Tertiary.  It  is  certainly  not  an  unwar- 
ranted inference  that  the  spinning  organs  by  which  these  cocoons  were 
produced  differed  in  no  essential  particular  from  those  possessed  by  mod- 
ern spiders.^  This  likeness  implies  structural  similarity  in  other  vital 
organs,  and  hence,  reasoning  from  industrial  product  to  function,  from 
function  to  organ,  from  special  organs  to  general  structure,  we  arrive  at 
the  same  conclusion  that  seems  justified  by  a  study  of  Scudder's  Ameri- 
can  fossjls,  that  many   spiders   of  the  Tertiary   were   not  widely  different 

1  Simon,  Arach.  de  France,  Vol.  V.,  page  27.  *  Ibid.,  page  25. 

3  See  Vol.  I.,  Chapter  II. 


462  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


generically,  and   some   probably  even   specifically,  from  the  spiders  which 
now  inhabit  our  continent. 

VII. 

Since  most  fossil  spiders  known  to  us  are  preserved  enclosed  in  amber, 
it  is  important  in  our  study  of  the  life  of  ancestral  araneads  to  know 
something  of  the  history  and  character  of  this  important  sub- 
?^  Jr°^  stance.  Amber  is  a  product  of  the  prehistoric  world,  a  hard- 
ened resin  which  issued  from  the  bark  of  certain  trees.  The 
chief  geographical  source  of  the  amber  wood  is  in  the  bottom  of  the 
Baltic  Sea  in  the  neighborhood  of  what  is  now  called  Samland,  near  Pil- 
lau.  The  amber  tree  is  known  as  Pinites  succinifer  Gopp.  and  Ber.,  and 
has  been  described  from  various  vegetable  inclusions — wood,  blossom,  fruit, 
and  needle  leaves — along  with  various  insects  and  araneads.  The  species 
Succinifer  rightly  belongs  to  the  genus  Pinus,  although  that  name  is  really 
a  collective  name,  inasmuch  as  included  needle  leaves  and  other  vegeta- 
ble formations  show  there  must  have  been  at  least  four  species  of  pine 
in  the  amber  fields.  Since  it  cannot  be  determined  which  one  of  these 
actually  secreted  the  resin,  the  specific  name  must  be  a  comprehensive 
one.  The  trees  which  produce  the  amber  are  not  now  known  to  exist, 
but  Berendt  says  that  the  Balsam ea  most  closely  resembles  it.^ 

Every  gale  from  the  north  still  throws  up,  as  for  unknown  ages  it  has 
done,  masses  of  amber  on  the  shore  of  the  Baltic  Sea,  and  each  point  of 
the  coast  is  said  to  receive  a  particular  kind  so  peculiar  that  practiced 
cutters  are  able,  when  looking  at  a  rough  piece,  to  decide  whether  it  came 
from  a  quarter  to  the  east  of  Danzig  or  from  the  west  on  the  coast  of 
Pomerania ;    they  are  therefore  probably  the  product  of  different  trees. 

The  sources  of  amber  are  submarine  forests  which,  in  the  middle  epoch 
of  the  Brown-coal,  as  Berendt  conceives,  covered  the  shores  of  an  island 
continent  that  occupied  the  northern  portion  of  the  great  Ter- 
°^''°®®  tiary  sea  that  covered  most  of  Germany.  This  island,  or  group 
Samland  ^^  islands,  had  its  geographical  centre  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  present  sea  basin,  under  the  fifty- fifth  degree  of  latitude, 
and  its  northwestern  border  extending  higher  than  the  present  north- 
western point  of  Samland. 

The  name  Samland  will  not  be  found  upon  many  maps,  and  it  may, 
therefore,  be  defined  as  distinguishing  that  part  of  Prussia  bounded  on  the 
west  by  the  Baltic  Sea ;  on  the  north  in  part  by  the  same  sea,  the  Ku- 
rische  Nehrung,  and  Kurische  Haff.  The  southern  boundary  is  the  river 
Pregel  and   the  Frische   Haff;    while   the   eastern  boundary  is   an  arm  of 

^  Berendt,  G.  K.,  Die  ini  Bernstein  befindlichen  Organischen  Reste  der  Vorwelt  gesam- 
melt  in  Verbindung  mit  Mehreren  bearbeitet  und  herausgegeben,  von  C.  L.  Koch  und  Dr. 
Georg  Karl  Berendt.     Band  I.,  Abth.  II.,  page  28,  Berlin,  1854  (1845). 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR  HABITS.  463 

the  Pregel,  the  Deima.  It  is  hilly  towards  the  northwest,  the  ground 
rising  to  heights  of  two  and  three  hundred  feet,  and  becoming  flat  towards 
the  northeast  and  east,  and  gradually  sinking  down  towards  the  north- 
eastern angle.  In  the  elevated  northwestern  coast  Tertiar}'  beds  are  con- 
spicuous at  a  height  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
above  the  sea  level,  in  which  amber  deposits  are  found. 

Zaddach  ^  defines  the  site  of  the  amber  forests  as  a  bay  whose  bed  in- 
cluded the  whole  of  West  Prussia,  a  neighboring  portion  of  Pomerania,  and 
the  western  half  of  East  Prussia,  and  which  was  connected  in  the 
_  southwest  with  the  great  Tertiary  sea  that  covered  the  larger  por- 

tion of  Germany.  The  northern  boundary  of  this  bay  left  Sam- 
land  at  some  distance,  and  was  continued  westward  with  some  irregularity  to 
Ruckshoft  (Rixhoft),  which  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  peninsula  of  Hela,  and 
where  thick  Brown-coal  beds  crop  out  on  the  coast  of  the  Baltic.  The 
bay  was  a  basin  in  the  Cretaceous  formation,  and  was  bordered  by  widely 
extended  flat  coasts,  which  mark  the  last  upheaval  of  the  district.  Number- 
less rivulets  with  small  discharge  emptied  themselves  into  the  bay  and 
carried  solid  matter  into  it,  and  another  stream  from  the  northwest,  which 
flowed  from  the  southern  portion  of  the  Cretaceous  land,  also  discharged 
itself  here. 

The  coasts  of  this  bay  were  covered  with   luxuriant  plant  growths,  a 

flora  whose   delicate   structure   is   still   preserved   to   us   in   the  amber  and 

coal.  The  forests  which  covered  the  shores  of  this  bay  and  oc- 
Trees  • 

^       .        cupied   the  group   of   islands  or  insular  continent  beyond,  were, 

Amber.  according  to  Zaddach,  the  native  home  of  the  amber.  This 
amber  resin  issued  from  the  trees  as  pitch  issues  from  pine  trees, 
and  gum  from  our  cherry  and  plum  trees.  In  the  Adirondack  forests  I 
have  seen  guides  and  visitors  collecting  vials  full  of  the  aromatic  resin 
which  issues  from  the  fragrant  balsam  tree.  Certain  resins  and  gums  of 
commerce,  as  copal,  anime,  benzoe  resin,  mastix,  and  balsam,  are  collected 
by  making  slits  in  the  bark  of  trees  so  that  the  resin  runs  down  in  chan- 
nels to  the  ground,  where  it  hardens  and  is  collected  for  transportation. 
Copal  perhaps  affords  the  best  analogy  between  modern  resins  and  the 
ancient  amber,  because  it  comes  nearest  it,  and,  indeed,  according  to 
Berendt,  may  be  considered  its  modern  representative.  One  species  of 
copal  belongs  to  the  prehistoric  world,  but  Berendt  thinks  that  it  did  not 
grow  in  the  same  native  home  with  the  amber  tree,  because  the  organic 
inclusions  of  the  two  resins  show  no  identity. 

The  great  amount  of  amber  already  collected  gives  but  slight  indica- 
tion of  the  incalculable  quantity  that  must  have  been  •  secreted  by  the 
amber  pines  of  the  Tertiary.     The  sunken  storehouse  thereof,  the  former 

1  Amber :  Its  Origin  and  History  as  illustrated  by  the  Geology  of  Samland,  by  Dr.  G. 
Zaddach,  Professor  in  the  University  of  Konigsberg.  Quarterly  Journal  of  Sciences,  London, 
1868,  page  167. 


464  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 


soil  of   the   forests,  seems  to  be  full   of  it.     Although  storms   and  floods 
during  thousands  and  thousands  of  years  have  been  tearing  up  and  wash- 
ing away  these  stores,  the  quantity  seems  to  have  been  lessened 
y*®*  to   only  a  trifling  degree.     All  the  Baltic  shores   which   lie  clos- 

Stores  ^^*  ^^  ^^^^  supposed  sunken  continent,  also  the  west  shore  of 
Samland  and  the  north  shore  of  the  Frische  Nehrung,  have 
always  received  and  still  receive  a  large  quantity  of  amber.  However, 
the  storms  from  the  west  and  west  northwest  bring  up  the  amber  most 
abundantly. 

The  temperature  was  then  much  higher  than  now,  and  the  flora  of 
the  amber  continent  contained  certain  northern  forms  associated  with 
plants  in  temperate  climate,  and  others  whose  nearest  allies  now  live  in 
much  more  southern  regions.  Thus  camphor  trees  (Cinnamomum  poly- 
mori)hum  Heer)  occur  with  willows,  beeches,  and  numerous  oaks.  Among 
the  conifers,  the  most  abundant  tree  was  a  Thuja,  very  similar  to  the  Thuja 
occidentalis  now  living  in  America,  next  to  which  abounded  Widdringtonia, 
pines  and  firs  in  great  variety,  and  among  them  the  amber  pine.  Many  of 
the  last  already  had  perished,  and,  while  the  wood  decayed,  the  resin  with 
which  the  stem  and  branches  were  stored  might  have  accumulated  in 
large  quantities  in  bogs  and  lakes  in  the  soil  of  the  forest. 

In  order  to  explain,   however,   that  this  accumulation  of  amber  could 
be  suddenly  broken  up,  floated  away,  and  scattered,  Zaddach  assumes  that 
the  coast  of  the  district  was  on  the  point  of  sinking.     Alternate 
Breakmg  upheavals    and    depressions    of    the    country   may  be   positively 
o^  proved  to  have  occurred  in  the   immediately  succeeding  period, 

house.  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^™®  ^^^  coast  sank  but  slowly,  in  the  lapse  of  a  few 
centuries,  or  even  a  shorter  time,  a  great  portion  of  the  flat 
coast  terraces  might  have  been  covered  by  the  sea.  The  forest  earth  was 
washed  up  by  the  waves,  and  the  amber  carried  into  the  sea.  The  greater 
portion  being  probably  still  attached  to  the  wood,  with  all  its  animal  en- 
closures, it  could  float  about  in  the  water  for  some  time  before  sinking. 
The  forest  of  the  inundated  coast  was  also  destroyed,  but  the  stems  of 
the  trees  which  floated  out  into  the  open  sea  were  scattered  about,  only 
those  pieces  of  wood  imbedded  in  the  amber  charged  earth  sinking  with 
it  to  the  bottom.  Thus  perished  the  amber  forests ;  in  great  part,  at  least, 
for  one  need  not  assume  that  they  were  then  all  destroyed,  as  it  is  prob- 
able that  in  the  higher  districts  of  the  country  there  still  remained  many 
forests  which  also  were  rich  in  amber  trees.  ^ 

At  last,  after  alternate  upheavals  and  depressions,  the  land  gradually 
rose  to  its  present  height.  And  now,  when  lashed  by  storms,  the  sea  tears 
up  the  amber  out  of  the  deep  lying  beds  of  amber  earth.  By  the  help 
of  sea  weeds  turned  up  at  the  same  time,  the  resin  is  heaved  upwards  and 

^  Zaddach,  op.  cit. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS.  465 


carried  on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  and  when  the  storms  abate  and  the 
sea  becomes  calm  it  carries  the  amber,  together  with  pieces  of  older  Brown- 
coal  and  fresh  marine  plants,  on  to  the  beach,  where  a  hundred 
Collect-  iiaiids  are  waiting  to  intercept  it  with  nets.  That  is  the  "  amber 
Amber  drawing,"  a  trying  occupation,  which  demands  a  strong  and 
hearty  frame,  for  the  cold  winter  storms  yield  the  richest  booty. 
But  many  pieces  of  amber,  nevertheless,  do  not  reach  the  shore,  for  the 
largest  and  heaviest  pieces  have  already  sunk  to  the  bottom,  and  lie  be- 
tween the  large  boulders  which  cover  the  sea  bed.  Therefore,  in  calm 
weather,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  take  boats  and  turn  the  stones  with 
hooks  fastened  to  long  poles,  dislodge  the  amber  in  the  interspaces,  and 
draw  it  up  with  small  nets.  This  is  called  "striking  for  amber"  (Bern- 
stein strechen). 

Amber  is  occasionally  met  with  in  the  gravel  beds  near  London.  At 
Alborough,  on  the  coast  of  Suffolk,  after  a  wrecking  tide,  it  is  thrown 
on  the  beach  in  considerable  quantities  along  with  masses  of  jet,  and  if 
not  torn  from  the  bed  of  the  sea  may  have  been  washed  from  the  Bal- 
tic. There  are  regular  mines  of  amber  in  Spain,  and  it  is  also  abundant 
on  the  shores  of  Sicily  and  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

According  to  Mr.  Hope,  who   speaks  as  an  entomologist,  many  of  the 

insects  recognized  in  amber  indicate  a  tropical  climate,  and  evince  a  South 

American  relationship ;  yet  the  Blattidse  and  some  of  the  Hymen- 

Chmate     optera  resemble   closely  oriental   species.     The  presence  of  many 

T       ,  other  genera  indicates  a  northern  climate.     From  the  above  dis- 

Land.  ^ 

crepancies,  it  may  be  adduced  that  the  climate  and  temperature 
of  Europe  have  undergone  considerable  change.  The  examples  of  tropical 
insects  sufficiently  testify  that  the  amber  tree  did  not  flourish  in  a  climate 
such  as  Prussia  now  enjoys,  but  in  a  warmer  region.  ^ 


VIIL 

One  who  reads  a  list  of  Succinic  Insects,  as,  for  example,  that  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Hope,^  will  find  represented  the  orders  of  insects  with  which 

we  are  now  familiar.  These  must  have  formed  the  food  sup- 
Insect  plies  of  the  amber  spiders.  A  large  proportion  of  our  com- 
.°°,  ^  mon  families  are  therein  represented,  and  underneath  these  fam- 
Spiders.     ^^^^^  numerous  genera  of  prevalent  insects  appear.     It  would  thus 

seem  that  the  generic  aspects  of  the  insect  fauna  of  the  amber 
period  resembled  that  of  the  present  time ;  indeed,  Mr.  Hope  has  said,  per- 
haps  somewhat  too  strongly,  "the  major  part  exhibit  a  close  resemblance 

1  Rev.  F.  AV.  Hope,  F.  R.  S.,  President  Entomological  Society.  "  Observations  on  Succinic 
Insects."    Transactions  Entomological  Society  of  London,  Vol.  I.,  1836,  page  133,  sq. 

2  Ibid.,  pages  139,  147. 


466  AMERICAN   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   SPINNINGWORK. 

to  existing  species,  and  can  be  satisfactorily  placed  under  the  published 
genera."  However,  we  have  not  been  able  to  trace  specific  identity.  In 
this  antediluvian  and  amber  forest  now  lying  beneath  the  North  Sea  waves, 
and  along  the  shores  of  this  Tertiary  Amber  Bay,  we  can  readily  picture  to 
ourselves  vast  numbers  of  Coleoptera  burrowing  in  the  ground,  boring  in 
trees,  flying  among  the  branches,  pursuing  the  same  round  of  habits  with 
which  we  are  to-day  familiar.  The  Homoptera  are  represented  by  the 
Cicada,  who  doubtless  then  as  now  filled  the  forest  with  his  piping  notes. 
Dragon-flies  hunted  their  insect  prey,  and  Libellula  and  Agrion  carried 
havoc  among  the  entomological  hosts,  as  they  do  to-day  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Philadelphia.  Ichneumon  flies  doubtless  exercised  their  parasitic 
habits  upon  victims  like  their  modern  hosts.  "Wasps  of  various  sorts 
dragged  numberless  spiders,  flies,  and  other  insects  into  their  mud  daub 
nests  to  feed  their  voracious  grubs. 

Ants  and  bees  were  present  in  great  numbers.  Among  the  Orthoptera, 
cockroaches,  locusts,  grasshoppers,  and  many  other  genera  were  represented. 
Among  the  Lepidoptera  such  well  known  genera  as  Papilio,  Tinea,  and 
Sphinx  might  have  been  seen;  and  minute  Diptera,  some  of  which,  at 
least,  were  similar  to  those  of  modern  Europe,  everywhere  abounded  in  field 
and  forest.  We  may,  therefore,  conclude  that  the  picture  of  this  submarine 
antediluvian  amber  forest,  which  we  can  draw  from  the  facts  presented 
to  us  by  the  entomologist,  botanist,  and  geologist,  would  not  largely  differ 
from  that  of  the  midsummer  aspect  of  the  forests  of  the  Adirondack  Mount- 
ains in  New  York,  where  various  sorts  of  pine  trees  reach  immense  pro- 
portions, and  the  balsam  especially  abounds,  forming  the  fragrant  upholstery 
for  the  beds  of  those  who  bivouac  or  camp  along  the  lakes  and  rivers  of 
that  favorite  region  of  American  summer  tourists.  In  the  midst  some 
such  scenes,  and  surrounded  by  similar  insect  hordes,  the  aranead  ancestors 
of  our  existing  spiders  dwelt.  The  reader  may  know  just  how  they  looked. 
They  are  embalmed  for  us  in  the  liquid  resin  secreted  in  the  forests  of 
Amber  Island  and  Amber  Bay. 

On  the  accompanying  full  page  engraving  I  have  presented  a  few  selec- 
tions from  the  figures  of  amber  spiders,  as  given  in  Berendt's  noble  work. 
Figs.  389  and  390  represent  Orbweavers  of  the  genus  Zilla.  The 
Spiders  Lineweavers  are  represented  by  Figs.  395  and  398,  Ero  and  The- 
ridium.  The  Tubeweavers  by  Figs.  393  and  397,  Segestria  and 
Clubiona.  The  Saltigrades,  by  the  unmistakable  Eresus  at  Fig.  394,  and 
the  Laterigrades  by  Philodromus  and  Syphax,  Figs.  396  and  399.  It  is  at 
once  manifest  by  a  glance  at  these  drawings  that  in  their  general  facies  not 
only,  but  in  their  detailed  characteristics,  they  show  a  close  resemblance  to 
corresponding  genera  as  they  are  known  to-day. 

This  resemblance,  however,  to  existing  genera  (as  far  as  now  known)  is 
not  always  so  apparent  from  the  figures  presented  by  Berendt.  For  ex- 
ample, Archea  paradoxa,  which  is  represented  much  enlarged  in  both  the 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 


467 


399 


Fossil  spiders  of  the  amber.    (After  Berendt.) 

Fig.  389.  Zilla  porrecta,  female.  Fig.  390.  Zilla  gracilis,  female.  Fig.  391.  Phidippus  fre- 
natus,  female.  Fig.  392.  Phidippus  frenatus,  male.  Fig.  393.  Segestria  nana,  female. 
Fig.  394.  Eresus  monachus,  female.  Fig.  395.  Ero  setulosa,  female.  Fig.  396.  Philo- 
dromus  microcephalus,  male.  Fig.  397.  Clubiona  attenuata,  female.  Fig.  398.  The- 
ridium  hirtum,  female.       Fig.  399.    Syphax  megacephalus,  female. 


468 


AMERICAN   SPIDERfe   AND  THEIR  SPINNINGWORK. 


Embalm 
ing 

Amber 
Insects. 


female  form  (Fig.  400)  and  the  male  form  (Fig.  401),  shows  a  wide  diverg- 
ence from  any  spider  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  Modern  spiders  cer- 
tainly present  some  forms  that  are  equally  remarkable  in  their  divergence 
from  the  typical  spider  facies.  But  this  genus  appears  to  stand  by  itself, 
without  any  modern  representative,  and  is  probably  extinct. 

As  the  climate  of  the  amber  forests  covering  the  shores  of  the  Tertiary 
Amber  Bay,  and  the  islands  grouped  within  it,  was  that  of  a  semitropical 
rather  than  of  a  temperate  zone,  we  may  conceive  these  endless 
woods  of  amber  pine  exuding  streams  of  resin  under  a  hot  sum- 
mer sun.  The  liquid  product  freely  flowed  down  the  trunks  of 
the  trees  and  accumulated  in  great  lumps  around  the  roots,  mass 
mingling  with  mass,  as  the  trees  stood  close  together  in  the  for- 
ests, until   in  the  course  of  time  the  soil  w^as  surcharged   with   solidified 

resin.  In  that  period,  as 
now,  insects  frequented 
trees,  and  were  continu- 
ally hovering  around  the 
trunks,  alighting  thereon, 
creeping  along  the  bark. 
Then,  too,  any  aromatic 
substance  dropping  from 
the  branches  upon  the 
ground  must  have  at- 
tracted swarms  of  them, 
as  I  have  often  seen  in 
American  forests. 

We  have  thus  the 
conditions  under  which 
the  amber  fossils  were 
entombed ;  for  a  single 
touch  of  an  insect  upon 
the  liquid  resin  would  at 
once  arrest  its  flight,  and  the  soft,  flowing  stream  would  instantly  imbed 
it.  For  the  most  part  this  enclosure  seems  to  have  been  painless ;  at  least, 
the  attitude  of  the  included  insects  and  spiders  is  such  as  to  suggest  the 
absence  of  all  violent  struggle.  At  any  rate,  their  limbs  soon  sank  into  a 
position  of  repose,  and  they  are  thus  preserved  to  us. 

Where  insects  are,  there  spiders  resort  in  search  of  their  natural  food. 
Lurking  upon  the  branches,  crouching,  walking,  jumping  upon  the  trunks, 
spinning   their   webs    in   the    grasses    at   the   foot   of   trees,    and 


Fig.  400.    The  fossil  spider  Archea  paradoxa ;  female. 
Berendt.)    Natural  size  shown  in  the  circle. 


(After 


^^  ers      stringing  them  from  bough  to  bough,  it  is  not  strange  that,  in 

balmed.     ^^}^  ordinary  course  of  life,  they  too  found  sepulture  within  the 

liquid  runlets  and  masses  of  resin,  and  thus  have  been  preserved 

to  us,  along  with  the  insects  whose  lives  they  sought,  imbedded  in  amber. 


ANCESTRAL   SPIDERS   AND   THEIR   HABITS. 


469 


One  might  well  be  excused  for  giving  his  imagination  some  play  in 
depicting  the  strange  mutations  of  these  creatures  of  the  amber  forests. 
But  the  simple  truth  seems  fanciful  enough.  Their  life  in  those  fragrant 
woods  of  the  Tertiary,  along  the  islands  and  shores  of  the  ancient  Tertiary 
sea;  their  swift  entombment  within  the  aromatic  balsam;  their  long  repose 
within  the  soil  of  the  ancient  forests ;  the  convulsions  by  which  they  were 
sunk  deep  within  the  sea,  and  their  recovery  again  to  the  surface;  their  final 
repose  in  the  deep  bed  of  the  Baltic  Sea,  after  the  recurring  depressions 
and  elevations  had  ceased ;  in  some  cases,  at  teast,  their  settlement  and 
subsidence,  after  drifting  here  and  there, 
attached  to  broken  and  decayed  trunks  and 
roots,  the  sport  of  waves  and  currents  of 
the  ocean ;  their  long,  long  sleep  under- 
neath deep  sea  waves,  while  the  marvelous 
changes  that  have  made  our  present  world 
were  being  wrought  out ;  their  rupture  from 
their  rest  of  milleniads  by  the  grinding 
force  of  winter  storms;  their  drifting  be- 
fore the  force  of  breaking  waves  upon  the 
shores  of  Samland ;  their  capture  by  the 
fishermen  and  amber  strikers  of  Germany; 
their  cutting,  shaping,  and  polishing  in 
the  hands  of  lapidaries;  their  transit  from  hand  to  hand  among  venders 
and  merchants ;  their  resting  place  in  cabinets  of  entomologists,  collectors, 
and  scientific  societies;  their  voyage  from  country  to  country, 
and  once  more  upon  the  sea;  their  lodgment  here  beneath  the 
curious  eye  and  lens  of  the  writer,  who  studies  them  and  depicts 
their  forms  for  science  as  they  rest  embalmed  in  their  amber  sarcophagus — 
all  this  is  certainly  a  picture  upon  which  fancy  might  fondly  dwell.  It 
reads  like  a  romancer's  tale;  yet  the  story,  nevertheless,  presents  no  merely 
fanciful  features,  but,  in  good  sooth,  is  all  within  the  realm  of  sober  facts 
which  naturalists  have  disclosed. 


Fi<i.  401.    Arachea  paradoxa  ;  male. 
(After  Berendt.) 


Resur- 
gam. 


THE    END. 


IIS^DEX  OF  VOLUME  II. 


Abbot,  John,  138,  386. 

Abdomen,  curious  use  of,  417. 

Acoloides  saitidis,  397. 

Acrosoma,  339. 

Acrosoma  rugosa,  285,  289,  375. 

Activity  of  female,  70. 

Adaptation,  412. 

Adirondack  Mountains,  463,  466. 

Aeronautic  habit,  15,  Chapter  IX.,  256,  399 ; 

flight,  179. 
African  spiders,  208,  399,  450. 
Agalena  brunnea,  124,  292. 
Agalena  labyrinthea,  29,  45,  122,  189. 
Agalena  nsevia,  33,  36,  44,  85, 165,  166,  187,  189, 

208,  211,  236,  251,  252,  253,  288, 334,  337,  347, 

389 ;  cocoons  of,  121 ;  upholstering  of  co- 
coon, 122. 
Agamic  reproduction,  73. 
Age  of  spiders,  341 ;    influencing  color,  331, 

428;  of  ants,  427. 
Agrceca  brunnea,  126,  132. 
Agroeca  proxima,  126. 
Alaska,  spider  fauna,  97. 
"  Albatross,"  Fish  Commission  steamer,  334. 
Alexandria  Bay,  New  York,  131. 
Amber  bay,  466;  collecting,  465;  embalming, 

468 ;  island,  466 ;  stores  of,  464 ;  tree,  462 ; 

sources  of,  462. 
Andover  Review,  280. 
Androgens,  452. 
Animals,  senses  of,  345. 
Annisquam,  336. 
Anthrobia   mammouthia,  154,   156,   189,  286, 

291,  3.35. 
Anthrocophila  antiqua,  455. 
Ant  formed  spiders,  357,  369. 
Ant  thrush,  363. 
Ants,  427;    cutting  ants,  353;    destroyed    by 

birds,  362 ;  driver  ants,  363 ;    eat  spiders, 

364. 
Arachnophagous  wasps,  388. 
Aranea  columbiee,  459,  461. 
Archea  paradoxa,  457,  466,  468,  469. 


Architecture,  355 ;  influenced  by  motherhood, 
I       185 ;  inspired  by  motherhood,  64. 

Arctosa  cinerea,  393. 

Argiope  argenteola,  83,  84 ;  construction  of 
cocoon,  84,  388. 

Argiope  argyraspis,  21,  71,  289,  334,  338,  347, 
,349,  386 ;  cocoon  of,  manner  of  suspen- 
sion, 82 ;  hung  among  wild  flowers,  83. 

Argiope  aurelia,  life  of  young,  228,  229. 

Argiope  cophinaria,  20,  21,  22,  26,  71,  188,  189, 
201,  203,  207,  209,  210,  288,  300,  329,  334,  338, 
346,  348,  350,  .395,  398,  426;  cocoon,  con- 
struction of,  159,  Chapter  II. ;  sites  of,  75 ; 
methods  of  supension,  76 ;  among  grasses 
and  wild  flowers,  77 ;  stability  of  poise, 
78 ;  hung  to  a  curtain,^  79 ;  internal  struct- 
ure of,  80 ;  variation  in  structure,  81 ;  ovi- 
positing, 160;  spinning  the  brown  pad- 
ding of  her  cocoon,  160;  weaving  the  co- 
coon case,  161,  162 ;  winding  the  thread, 
163 ;  mechanical  ingenuity  in  weaving, 
163 ;  weaving,  Argiope's  method  of,  163 ; 
decline  and  death  of,  419 ;  male,  courtship 
of,  18  ;  maternity,  19 ;  pairing  of,  37 ;  sev- 
eral cocoons,  108,  110. 

Argiope  fenestrinus,  84. 

Argiope  multiconcha,  108,  188. 

Argyrodes  argyrodes,  see  Argyrodes  trigonum. 

Argyrodes  piraticum,  388,  390. 

Argyrodes  trigonum,  113,  114,  376,  389 ;  see 
Argyrodes  argyrodes,  389. 

Argyroepeira  hortorum,  39,  299. 

Argyroneta  aquatica,  24,  29,  65,  125,  12(j,  188, 
239,  "393  ;  cell  and  eggs  of,  125 ;  male  and 
female,  23 ;  pairing,  45. 

Ariadne  bicolor,  134. 

Arthropoda,  314. 

Astia  vittata,  262,  295 ;  dance,  53,  54. 

Atkinson,  George  T.,  416. 

Atrophy  of  eyes,  292. 

Atta  fervens,  357. 

Attidse,  69,  333,  359,  364 ;  colors  of,  327 ;  pair- 
ing of,  50 ;  attitudes  in  courtship,  59. 


(470) 


INDEX. 


471 


Attiis  nubilis,  196. 

Attus  terebratus,  314. 

Atypus,  im. 

Atypus  abbotii,  138 ;  see  Purseweb  spider. 

Atypus  piceus,  29,  137,  138,  245,  246,  429. 

Audebert,  73. 

Auditory  organs,  300  ;  hairs,  309,  312. 

Ausserer,  Prof.  Ant.,  73. 

Azara,  Don  Felix  de,  230. 

Babyhood  of  spiders,  206. 

Bpeus  americanus,  397. 

Baird,  James,  M.  D.,  444. 

Ballooning,  109;  among  Orbweavers,  266;  at- 
titude during  flight,  2(t0,  261 ;  circumnavi- 
gation by,  268,  269,  270 ;  habit,  256 ;  height 
attained,  2(54 ;  modes  of,  268 ;  process  of, 
264 ;  to  distribute  species,  272 ;  species,  280 ; 
spiders  at  sea,  273  ;  spiders,  262,  263,  379. 

Balloons,  description  of,  267. 

Balsam,  463. 

Balsamea,  4()2. 

Baltic  Sea,  462. 

Banks,  Mr.  Isaac,  94. 

Bat  Cave,  292. 

Bates,  Mr.,  324,  359. 

Beaded  hair,  310. 

Beauty  of  spiders,  323. 

Beauvois,  Palissot  de,  142. 

Beecher,  Prof.  Charles  E.,  455,  456. 

Beethoven,  Ludwig  van,  307. 

Belt,  Mr.,  443. 

Berendt,  Dr.  G.  K.,  453,  457,  462,  463,  466,  469. 

Bert,  Prof  Paul,  342. 

Bertkau,  Prof  Philip,  73,  74. 

Birds,  399 ;  eat  ants,  361 ;  love  dances  of,  56 ; 
of  Paradise,  courting  display  of  males,  56  ; 
opening  cocoons,  210 ;  sight  of,  360. 

Blackwall,  John,  16,  30,  94,  111,  118,  119,  190, 
261,  267,  268,  277,  278,  279,  280,  292,  297, 
298,  347,  392,  396,  433. 

Blue  wasp,  382 ;  mud  dauber  wasps,  383. 

Blanchard,  Prof  Emile,  16. 

Boys,  Mr.  C.  V.,  305. 

Bridge  building,  by  spiderlings,  226. 

British  spiders,  194,  297,  358 ;  see  English. 

Brooding  cocoons,  171,  191. 

Bruner,  Mr.  L.,  397. 

Buckland,  Rev.  AVm.,  D.  D.,  458. 

Buckley,  Prof,  385. 

Butler,  Mr.  A.  G.,  334,  371. 

California,  spiders  of,  83,  93,  98,  135,  147,  149, 
187,  209,  225,  242,  329,  333,  388,  414,  428. 


Cambridge,  Rev.  O.  Pickard,  26,  29,  66,  67, 116, 
138,  206,  287,  328,  358,  364,  369,  370,  461. 

Campbell,  Mr.  F.  M.,  16,  24,  47,  48,  74,  132,  202, 
284,  308,  317,  318,  319,  403,  437. 

Camponotus  pennsylvanicus,  3(i] . 

Cannibalism,  209,  380. 

Caracas,  South  America,  140. 

Caressing,  sexes  of  Water  spider,  46,  47. 

Cave  fauna,  origin  of,  156,  157 ;  life,  effects  of, 
157 ;  spiders,  154,  286,  291,  335. 

Cayenne,  spiders  of,  142. 

Central  America,  spiders  of,  148. 

Cephalothorax,  color  of,  349. 

Chalcidians,  395,  390. 

Chalybion  csBruleum,  383,  384. 

Chlorion  cteruleum,  384. 

Chromatophores,  349,  350,  351. 

Citigradfe,  cocoons  of,  143,  403 ;  colors  of,  324. 

Cicada,  466. 

Cicada  pruinosa,  383. 

Cicada  septendecim,  314. 

Cicada  wasp,  383. 

Ciniflo  atrox,  280. 

Clerck,  Carolii,  the  Swedish  naturalist,  29, 125. 

Climate,  influence  on  color,  333;  covers,  403; 
of  Tertiary,  451. 

Clubshaped  hair,  311. 

Clubiona,  male,  pairing,  45.         ,^ 

Clubiona  attenuata,  467. 

Clubiona  erratica,  132,  133. 

ClubiCna  hollosericea,  132,  194. 

Clubiona  pallens,  132,  288. 

Clubiona  putris,  393. 

Clubiona  tranquilla,  126,  127. 

Cock-of-the-rock,  56. 

Cockerell,  Mr.  T.  B.,  362. 

Cocoons,  417 ;  brooding  of,  191 ;  colors,  347,  348 ; 
egress  from,  210;  fossil,  459;  life  in,  206, 
207 ;  mimicry,  372,  376 ;  of  Water  spider, 
40 ;  of  AVandering  spiders,  433 ;  shape  of, 
185 ;  of  Theridiosoma,  460 ;  simplicity  and 
complexity  of,  186;  tent,  294;  vigils  of, 
186;  weaving  of,  203;  carrying,  418;  har- 
borage of,  171 ;  position  of,  168 ;  methods 
of  production,  170 ;  of  British  spiders,  194; 
of  Orbweavers,  Chapter  IV. ;  of  Trapdoor 
spiders,  64 ;  parasitized,  397 ;  protecting  by 
portage,  172;  by  suspensory  lines,  172;  re-, 
lation  of  color,  346 ;  secreting  of,  179 ;  sev- 
eral, 95 ;    variety  and   complexity  of,  174. 

Coeooning,  63 ;  at  night,  180 ;  caves,  403 ;  habit, 
460 ;  in  the  dark,  285 ;  multifold,  187 ;  pe- 
riod of,  229. 

Coelotes  saxatilis,  125. 

Coffin's  Beach,  336. 


472 


INDEX. 


Coleoptera,  46(5 ;  long  life,  429. 

Colonies  of  Medicinal  spider,  237,  238;  on 
adult  webs,  234,  235;  over  water,  233;  of 
South  American  Epeiras,  231 ;  of  Epeira 
triaranea,  231. 

Color  and  color  sense,  Chapter  XI. 

Color,  causes  that  modify,  341 ;  consciousness 
of,  333,  341 ;  development,  60 ;  hairs,  351 ; 
mimicry,  367 ;  normal,  325 ;  of  Cave  spi- 
ders, 335:  patterns,  348;  utility  of,  337; 
sense  of,  34(5 ;  structural  causes  of,  349 ;  ex- 
hibited by  males  in  wooing,  52 ;  preference 
for,  343 ;  relation  to  cocoons,  347. 

Colorado,  Gray's  Peak,  128. 

Colors  and  sex,  328. 

Combativeness  in  females,  33 ;  in  males,  32, 33. 

Communication  by  sound,  314. 

Communities  of  spiders,  230. 

Conflicts  of  males,  30. 

Conifers  of  the  Tertiary,  464. 

Consciousness  of  color,  333,  342. 

Copal,  4(53. 

Cope,  Prof.  Edward,  450,  458. 

Copulation,  73. 

Coreopsis,  367. 

Cornwallis,  Mr.  E.  C,  362. 

Courtship,  333,  335;  attitude  in,  62;  first  stages 
of,  20. 

Cowan,  Edward,  307. 

Crab,  male,  dances  of,  55. 

Cresson,  Ezra  T.,  131,  396. 

Cretaceous  formations,  463. 

Cricket,  314,  315. 

Crum  Creek,  368. 

Crustaceans,  342 ;  sound  making,  315. 

Cteniza  ariana,  250. 

Cteniza  californica,  169,  414,  415 ;  eggs  of,  182, 
183. 

Cteniza  fodiens,  249. 

Ctenus,  148 ;  young  of,  226,  227. 

Cutting  ants,  357, 

Cuvier,  Baron,  415. 

Cyclocosmia  truncata,  415,  416,  417. 

Cyclosa  bifurca,  189,  372,  376. 

Cyclosa  caudata,  102,  104,  169,  191,  204,  232, 
301,  372,  373,  376. 

Cyclosa  conica,  374. 

Cynips,  142;  parasitic  on  spiders,  246,  247. 

Cyrtarachne,  cocoons  of,  95,  98,  97. 

Cyrtarachne  cornigera,  98,  99. 

Cyrtophora  biiurca,  95. 


Dahl,  Herr,  309,  312. 
Dances,  love,  of  males,  50, 


Danger,  influence  of,  341 ;  influences  indus- 
try, 407 ;  insects  unconscious  of,  340. 

Daphnia  pulex,  342. 

Darwin,  Charles,  16,  30,  56,  230,  232,  273,  315, 
319,358,359,441,442. 

Dawson,  Dr.  G.  M.,  459. 

Death,  378 ;  feigning,  255,  438,  442 ;  of  spiders. 
Chapter  XIV.,  419. 

De  Geer,  Baron,  16,  27,  29,  50,  133,  150. 

De  Lignac,  45. 

Dendryphantes  capitatus,  31,  52. 

Dendryphantes  elegans,  33. 

Dens,  spider,  433. 

Dermestidse,  87,  396. 

Development,  effects  of,  208. 

Diadem  spider,  22 ;  see  Epeira  diademata. 

Digger  wasp,  383,  406. 

Diptera,  340. 

Dispersion  of  young,  220. 

Dissimulation  of  insects,  359. 

Distribution  of  species,  97,  272,  274 ;  vertical, 
of  Orbweavers,  178. 

Diurnal  eyes,  290. 

Dodge,  Capt.  George  H.,  273. 

Dolichoscaptus  inops,  410,  411. 

Dolichoscaptus  latastei,  410. 

Dolichoscaptus  vittatus,  417. 

Dolomedes  albinius,  193. 

Dolomedes  lanceolatus,  194. 

Dolomedes  mirabilis,  27,  146,  147,  189. 

Dolomedes  scriptus,  195. 

Dolomedes  sexpunctatus,  145,  146. 

Dolomedes  tenebrosus,  192,  201,  299,  301. 

Dolomedes,  young  of,  240,  241. 

Domesticity  of  spiders,  27,  28,  39,  63. 

Domicile  spider,  302. 

Doors  of  Lycosids,  405. 

Dragon  flies,  466. 

Drassids,  cocoon  and  nest  of,  132 ;  cocoons  of, 
125,  210;  of  England,  133  ;  ovipositing,  181. 

Di-assus  ater,  133,  194. 

Drassus  lapidicolens,  133,  194. 

Drassus  nitens,  133. 

Drassus  sylvestris,  133. 

Dufour,  M.,  407. 

Dwight,  Dr.  Sereno  E.,  280. 

Dyctina,  nests  and  cocoons  of,  136,  137. 

Dying,  manner  of,  419. 

Dysdera  bicolor,  134,  135,  189. 

Dysdera  hombergii,  189. 

Eating,  428. 

Edgerton,  Lord,  of  Tatton  Hall,  290. 
Edwards,  Dr.  Jonathan,  as  a  naturalist,  280, 
281. 


INDEX. 


4.73 


Eggs,  spider,  75,  88,  193,  199,  201,  202,  396; 
devoured  by  mother,  182;  fecundity  of, 
177;  irregular  oviposition,  184;  number  of, 
90,188;  parasites  on,  394;  v, 'thin  the  ab- 
domen, 180. 

Egress  from  cocoon,  212. 

Eigenmann,  Mrs.  Rosa,  83,  93,  135,  225,  329, 
388,  395. 

Electricity,  influencing  ballooning,  279. 

Elis  4-notata,  384,  406,  414. 

Emerton,  J.  H.,  21,  27,  36,  44,  49,  95,  109,  120, 
121,  123,  135,  154,  155,  165,  181,  182,  187, 
212,  261,  291,  292,  335,  351,  389,  404. 

Enemies  and  their  influence.  Chapter  XIII., 
378. 

Enemies  of  spiders,  191,  363,  375,  399,  411. 

English  spiders,  280,  284,  289,  290,  292,  328, 
330,  348,  366,  369,  374,  403,  429,  433 ;  Dras- 
sids,  133 ;  Atypus,  137 ;  gossamer  showers 
of,  276. 

Enock,  Mr.  Frederick,  29,  137,  244,  245,  249, 
429. 

Environment,  352 ;  influence  of,  412 ;  influ- 
ence on  color,  334. 

Entombment,  manner  of,  in  amber,  468 ;  of 
fossils,  447. 

Eo  thoracica,  460. 

Eotypus  woodwardii,  456. 

Epeira  apoclisa,  27,  36,  38,  187,  433. 

Epeira  basilica,  169,  191 ;  cocoon  string  of,  106. 

Epeira  bicentennaria,  330. 

Epeira  bifurca,  95,  169;  cocoon  string,  104; 
see  Cyclosa  bifurca. 

Epeira  bombicinaria,  440. 

Epeira  cavatica,  see  Epeira  cinerea. 

Epeira  cinerea,  89, 190,  224,  398. 

Epeira  cooksonii,  334. 

Epeira  cornigera,  207. 

Epeira  cornuta,  290. 

Epeira  cucurbitina,  330,  370. 

Epeira  diademata,  21,  110,  187,  188,  189,  190, 
224,  283,  284,  289,  328;  pairing  of,  34. 

Epeira  domiciliorum,  224,  334 ;  cocoon,  86,  87 ; 
time  of  cocooning,  88. 

Epeira  epiblemum,  207. 

Epeira  fusca,  27 ;  see  Meta  menardii. 

Epeira  gemma,  330. 

Epeira  inclinata,  24,  292. 

Epeira  infumata,  440,  441. 

Epeira  insularis,  208,  214,  289,  441,  453;  co- 
coon of,  86,  87 ;  male,  20. 

Epeira  labyrinthea,  62,  99,  168,  187,  191,  222, 
289,  305,  333,  386,  390;  cocoons  stnmg  in 
site,  100 ;  string  of,  101 ;  suspension  of,  102 ; 
courtship,  21. 


Epeira  marmorea,  34 ;  see  Epeira  insularis. 

Epeira  meekii,  453. 

Epeira  parvula,  328,  371,  440. 

Epeira  patagiata,  327. 

P^peira  quadratii,  28,  189,  289,  433. 

Epeira  sclopetaria,  36,  (52,  207,  234,  254,  289, 

293,  399,  432  ;  time  of  cocooning,  88. 
Epeira  strix,  24,  26,  164,  165,  181,  288,  285,  329, 

338,  341,  386,  431,  433,  453. 
Epeira  thaddeus,  331 ;  cocoon,  90. 
Epeira  triaranea,  89,  90,  195,  208,  222,  231,  338, 

339. 
Ei)eira  trifolium,  289,  331,  439. 
Epeira  umbratica,  179,  290,  396. 
Epeira  vertebrata,  26,  334. 
Epiblemum  scenicum,  30,  50,  57,  236. 
Erigone,  cocoon  of,  118. 
Erigonum,  147. 
Erber,  Mr.,  250. 
Eresus  monarchus,  467. 
Ergatis  benigna,  27. 
Ero,  466. 

Ero  setulosa,  467. 
Ero  thoracica,  114, 115. 
Ero  variegata,  114,  115. 
Eumeneg,  genus  of  wasps,  130,  131. 
European  spiders,  95,  289,  452. 
Eurypelma  hentzii,  140,  249,  321,  385,  428. 
Evolution,  60,  360,  378. 
Eye  tubercles,  298. 
Eye  turrets,  297,  298. 
Eyes  of  spiders,  283 ;  atrophy  of,  292 ;  color  of, 

287 ;  night  and  day,  288 ;  structure  of,  284. 

Fabre,  J.  H.,  445. 

Fakir,  444. 

Fairmount  Park,  399. 

Faithfulness,  maternal,  199. 

Fear  paralysis,  438. 

Fecundity  of  female  spiders,  177. 

Feigning  death,  195,  255. 

Female   spiders,  quiescent  during  courtehip, 

57 ;  relative  activity,  70. 
Ferocity,  66. 
Fertility  of  spiders,  189. 
Fertilization,  72. 
Feud  among  spiders,  389. 
Fighting  of  females,  33;  of  males,  30,  31. 
Fingal's  Cave,  spiders  in,  179,  290. 
Flies,  387,  442. 
Florida  spiders,  91,  201,  356. 
Florissant  spiders,  447,  458. 
Flowers,  attracting  insects  and  spiders,  346; 

mimicked,  368. 
Flying  spiders,  256. 


474 


INDEX. 


Food  of  cave  spiders,  156 ;  of  yoiing  spiders, 

213,  243. 
Forel,  Prof.  Auguste,  M.  D.,  295,  345. 
Foreordi nation  in  Nature,  88. 
Forests  protected  by  spiders,  401. 
Forethought,  202,  204. 
Form  mimicry,  357. 
Formica  exsecta,  362. 
Formica  fusca,  3(52,  427. 
Formica  integra,  362. 
Formica  rufa,  362,  364. 
Formicariidee,  363. 
Fossil  spidery,  446 ;  life  of,  469. 
Fountain  Cave  spiders,  291,  292. 
Four  spotted  Elis,  385. 
Franklin,  Clarence  P.,  155. 
Fraternity  among  broodlings,  225,  255. 
Fright,  341. 
Fronani,  Prof,  428. 
Furrow  spider;  see  Epeira  strix. 

Gasteracantha,  93,  329,  340,  388. 

Gasteracantha  bourbonica,  93,  208. 

Gentry,  Dr.  Allan,  434. 

Geology,  458. 

Geotrachea  crocata,  351. 

Germany,  Tertiary  Sea,  462 ;  Tertiary  bound- 
aries of,  463. 

Gerstaecker,  Herr,  271,  272. 

Gestation,  341 ;  influence  on  color,  331. 

Gnaphosa,  cocoons  of,  128. 

Gnatcatcher,  blue  gray,  399. 

Goeppert,  Prof  Dr.  h'  R.,  462. 

Goethe  on  wasps,  380,  381. 

God,  presence  of,  in  Nature,  204. 

Golden  rod,  367. 

Gordius,  394. 

Gossamer,  floating,  259,  265,  274 ;  how  formed, 
277;  showers,  origin  of,  274,  275,  276,  278. 

Gourret,  M,  446,  458. 

Graber,  ]Mr.,  345. 

Grecian  Archipelago,  Trapdoor  spiders  of,  250. 

Green,  Mr.  E.  Ernest,  392. 

Gregarious  habit,  216,  217,  230. 

Grenacher,  H.,  283. 

(iretrey,  M.,  307. 

Guerin,  M.,  142. 

(Juest  wasps,  384. 

Habit  influencing  industry,  406 ;  modification 
•     of,  412 ;  value  of,  61. 
Habitat  of  spiders,  401. 
Habrocestus  splendens,  52,  333. 
Hairs,  auditory,  309;  colored,  350,  351. 


Harger,  Mr.,  455. 

Harris,  Dr.  T.  W.,  194. 

Hatching  of  young,  period  of,  207,  25)4. 

Hawkins,  Sir  John,  307. 

Hearing,  organs  of,  301. 

Heer,  Prof,  449. 

Henops  marginatus,  393. 

Hentz,  I^of  Marcellus,  102,  107,  147,  192,  193, 

357,  390,  417,  451. 
Herman,  Mr.  Otto,  236,  237. 
Hermeteles  fasciatus,  392. 
Hermeteles  formosus,  392. 
Herpyllus  aureata,  127,  128. 
Herpyllus  ecclesiasticus,  191,  299,  301. 
Heterapoda  venatoria,  109,  153,  272,  273. 
Hey  wood,  Mr.,  449. 
Hibernating,  430,  435. 
Holden,  Mr.  William,  271. 
Hope,  Rev.  F.  AV.,  452,  465. 
Horn,  Dr.  George  H.,  429. 
Hornets,  387. 
Howard,  Mr.  L.  O.,  397. 
Huntsman  spider,  153,  268. 
Hummingbirds,  210,  399. 
Hymenoptera,  parasitic,  394,  397. 
Hypnotism,  voluntary,  444. 

Ichneumon  flies,  129, 189,  338,  392,  395,  466. 

Icius  mitratus,  54. 

Illinois  spiders  of,  128. 

Impregnation  of  female  spider,  49,  74. 

India,  spiders  of,  392. 

Industrial  mimicry,  352. 

Industrial  skill,  415 ;  intuitive,  202,  338 ;  influ- 
enced by  enemies,  402;  by  maternity,  64. 

Industry,  maternal,  75;  unmodified,  461. 

Insects,  314,  335,  340 ;  color  sense,  343  ;  stored 
by  spiders,  383 ;  fossil,  452 ;  succinic  or 
amber,  465. 

Instinct,  201,  202;  manifest  in  young,  250,  251 ; 
maternal,  75,  193,  196,  199,  200. 

Insular  spider,  28,  338 ;  see  Epeira  insularis. 

Intelligence,  maternal,  185. 

Internal  structure,  108. 

Iridescence,  335,  351. 

Ithomia,  359. 

Joannes,  Moreau  de,  142. 
Jones,  Rev.  P.  L.,  186. 

Keller,  Dr.  C,  401. 
Kent,  J,  Sackville,  315. 
Kirby  and  Spence,  375. 
Koch,  Dr.  L.,  84,  151,  271. 


INDEX. 


475 


Labyrinth  spider;  see  Epeira  labyrinthea. 

Lycosa  riparia,  143. 

Laterigrades,  69,  180,  434,  466  ;  cocoon 

of. 

151; 

Lycosa  scutulatii,  394. 

colors  of,  324,  369. 

Lycosa  tarentula,  407. 

Latreille,  281. 

Lycosa  tigrina,  244,  384,  404,  407. 

Lathrodectus  mactans,  112. 

Lycosa  saccata,  144,  280,  2m,  314. 

I^bert,  Mr.,  288. 

Leidy,  Prof.  Joseph,  154,  336,  394,  428, 

429. 

Magellan,  Straits  of,  333. 

Legs,  313;  restored  when  lost,  229; 

color  of, 

Males,  206,  333 ;  amorous  solicitations,  63 ;  at- 

349;  relative  length  of  male  and  femalt 

;,  26. 

titude  of,  58;  before  mating,  18;  dwelling 

Lepidoptera,  466. 

with  females,  27 ;  fights  of,  30 ;  love  call. 

Leptalis,  359. 

315;  love  dances  of,  50,  51,  52;  displays  to 

Leptopelma  cavicula,  409. 

attract  females,  57;  interniptions  during 

Ijcptopelma  elongata,  411. 

pairing,  43;  office  of,  15;  peril  of,  22;  po- 

I^squereux, 447,  450,  458. 

sition  when  mating,  59 ;  pugnacity  of,  32 ; 

Life,  prolonged,  425. 

relative  activity,  70;  relative  numljer,  16; 

Lignac,  Abbe  de,  28. 

relative  size  of,  (58 ;  revelry  and  quarrel- 

Lincecum, Dr.  G.,  264,  267,  385. 

someness,  63 ;  sluggishness  of,  71 ;  snare, 

Linton  Park,  England,  362. 

19;  immature  web  of,  19. 

Linyphia  communis,  341,  389. 

Mammoth  Cave,  336,  337  ;  spiders  of,  154. 

Linyphia    costata,   27 ;    see    Linyphia    phry- 

Mandibles,  322. 

giana. 

Manifold  cocooning,  95. 

Linyphia  crypticolens,  119. 

Marptusa  familiaris,  51,  58. 

Linyphia  inserta,  292. 

Martindale,  Isaac  H.,  98. 

Linyphia   marginata,  21,  29,  33,  36, 

73, 

119; 

Marx,  Dr.  Cieorge,  93,  95,  98,  lOii,  107,  151,  334, 

pairing  of,  41,  42. 

377,  397,  432,  460. 

Linyphia  montana,  16,  119. 

Mason,  Prof.  AV^ood,  322. 

Linyphia  phrygiana  —  L.  costata,  27- 

Maternal  instincts,  motherhood.  Chapter  VII., 

Linyphia  scripta,  389. 

178,  190,  195,  198,  202,  212,  417,  418;  and 

Linyphia  subterranea,  335. 

industry.   Chapter  IV.,  75;   influence  on 

Linyphia  tenebricola,  318. 

industry,  64. 

Linyphia  weyerii,  154,  289,  290. 

Mating,  337. 

Liphistius,  455. 

Mating  habits,  comparative  views  of,  61. 

Lister,  Dr.  Martin,  35,  95,  187,  264, 

279, 

374, 

Mechanical  skill  of  spiders,  129,  203. 

375. 

Medicinal  spider,  123,  288 ;  see  Tegenaria  me- 

Livingstone,  Dr.  David,  399. 

dicinalis. 

Lizards,  eating  spiders,  379. 

Meehan,  Thomas,  210,  399. 

Local  mimicry,  365. 

Memory,  199. 

Locy,  William  H.,  284. 

Menge,  Herr  A.,  22,  28,  34,  73,  182,  190,  212, 

Love,  a,  bower,  57 ;  call,  315 ;  dances  of  male 

213,  272,  332,  393,  394,  452. 

spiders,  51 ;  maternal,  205 ;  signals,  21 

,  59. 

Merejkowski,  M.,  342. 

Lubbock,  Sir  John,  201,  283,  296,  342, 

343, 

344, 

Merian,  Madame,  142. 

345,  427,  429. 

Mermis  allicans,  a  "hair  snake,"  393. 

Lucas,  M.  H.,  252. 

Meta,  178. 

Luray  Cave,  289,  290,  336. 

Meta  menardii,  94,  288. 

Lycosids,  72,  301,  334,  344,  364,  382,  ^ 

i03. 

434; 

Meta  segmentata,  29. 

cocoon  of,  143 ;  cocoon  making,  166 

» ;  effects 

Metallic  colors,  325,  349,  371. 

of  music  on,  301  ;  maternal  feeling  of,  198 ; 

Metatarsus,  hairs  on,  313. 

maternal  instincts  of,  193;  sight 

of, 

295; 

Micaria  aureata,  127,  128. 

young  of,  240,  242. 

Micaria  limicunse,  129,  130,  203,  204. 

Lycosa  agrestis,  189. 

Micaria  longipes,  351. 

Lycosa  arenicola,  336. 

Micaria  scintilans,  358. 

Lycosa  carolinensis,  403,  407. 

Micromata  marmorata,  194. 

Lycosa  herbigrada,  370. 

Micromata  ornata,  332. 

Lycosa  lenta,  193. 

Mimetic  harmonies,  335, 337  ;  resemblance,  353. 

Lycosa  narbonensis,  189,  445. 

Mimetus  interfector,  389,  390. 

476 


INDEX. 


Mimetus  syllepeicus,  390. 

Mimicry,  152,  190,  337,  345 ;  of  animal  forms, 

357 ;  of  colors,  367 ;  of  cocoons,  372 ;  of  en- 
vironment,   365 ;    knots   and    buds,    366 ; 

ground,  369. 
Miranda  adiantsi,  394. 
Missouri  spider  fauna,  108. 
Mistakes  of  mothers,  200. 
Misumena  vatia,  152,  192,  324,  344,  346,  367, 

369,  371,  386. 
IMitchell,  Dr.  S.  Weir,  443. 
Moggridge,  T.  Traherne,  182,  184,  247,  248,  249, 

250, 352, 354,  355,  356,  412,  415,  416,  429,  443. 
Morgan,  T.  H.,  55. 
Mortality  among  spiders,  222,  228 ;  first  stages 

of,  422. 
Motherhood,  72,    178,  186,  192,  193,  194,  197, 

200,  205. 
Moulting,  207,  208,  220,  229,  341 ;  dangers  of, 

428 ;  influence  on  color,  331 ;  of  Argiope, 

22,  23 ;  tents,  403. 
Mud  cocoons,  129,  203. 
Mud  dauber  wasps,  364,  381,  382,  383,  387. 
Midler,  Herr  (Alpen  Bliimen),  346. 
Multifold  cocoons,  108. 
Murray,  John,  276. 
Muscular  action,  332,  341. 
Music,  effects  on  spiders,  300,  305,  306,  307, 

309. 
Mygale  avicularia,  142. 
Mygale  blondii,  142, 189. 
Mygale  stridulans,  319. 
Mygale  truncata,  see  Cyclocosmia  truncata. 
Mygalidse,  141,  142, 169,  316,  321. 

Natural  selection,  363,  370,  442, 445. 

Navigating  spiders,  268,  269. 

Nemesia  ccementaria,  249,  353,  355,  416. 

Nemesia  congener,  248,  415. 

Nemesia  eleanora,  248. 

Nemesia  mandei-stjernse,  356. 

Nemesia  meridionalis,  353,  355,  411 ;  nest  of 

young,  250. 
Nemesia  moggridgii,  248,  356. 
Nephila  chrysogaster,  24. 
Nephila  cocoons,  92 ;  fossil,  450. 
Nephila  inaurata,  93,  235. 
Nephila  nigra,  25,  20,  66,  235. 
Nephila  pennatipes,  451. 
Nephila  plumipes  (wilderi),  66,  91,  189,  450. 
Neriene  dentipalpis,  277. 
Nests,  339 ;  building,  355 ;  cocooning  of  Dras- 

sids,  134,  135;   development   of  trapdoor, 

248 ;    parasitism.   235,   388 ;    repairing    of, 

196 ;  winter,  431,  432. 


Nesting  habits,  70,  402 ;  of  Argyroneta,  45,  46 ; 
influence  of  habit,  67 ;  Trapdoor  spiders,  64. 
Nesticus  pallidus,  154,  156,  189. 
Nesticus  speluncarum,  291. 
New  England  spider  fauna,  90. 
New  Lisbon,  Ohio,  spider  fauna,  89. 
Night  eyes,  288 ;  habits,  180,  287,  308. 
Niantic,  Connecticut,  20. 
Nocturnal  eyes,  290. 
Numerical  proportion,  69. 

Ocelkis,  283. 

Odors,  effects  on  spiders,  299. 

Oeningen  spiders,  452. 

Ogontz  Seminary,  218. 

Olfactory  organs,  300. 

Oligocene  spiders,  447,  458. 

Olivet,  Abbe,  307. 

Oncodes  pallipes,  393. 

Oonops  pulcher,  189. 

Orbweavers,  65,  71 ;  difference  between  sexes, 
62 ;  position  in  pairing,  62 ;  favorite  sites 
of,  178  ;  stored  by  wasps,  386 ;  fossil,  466. 

Orchard  spider,  339,  350,  366. 

Orcutt,  C.  R.,  83,  388. 

Organs  of  hearing,  301,  302. 

Ornamentation,  333. 

Orthoptera,  466. 

Osborn,  Capt.,  444. 

Oustalet,  M.,  451,  458. 

Ovaries,  180. 

Oviposition,  181, 184. 

Oxyopes  salticus,  147. 

Oxyopes  viridens,  147,  193,  380. 

Pachygnatha,  27. 

Packard,  Prof.  A.  S.,  Jr.,  128,  154, 155,  156,  286, 
335. 

Pairing  of  spiders.  Chapter  II.,  41.  " 

Palmer,  L.  Chalkley,  368. 

Palpal  bulb,  use  of,  42. 

Palpipes  priscus,  457. 

Palps,  48,  72,  302.      • 

Paralysis,  fear,  438. 

Paralyzed  spiders,  383,  406. 

Parasites,  129, 142,  393,  394  ;  of  body,  391 ;  veg- 
etable, 399. 

Parasitic  larvae,  393 ;  spiders,  235. 

Parasitism,  395,  398. 

Parson  spider,  127;  see  Herpyllus  ecclesias- 
ticus. 

Parthenogenesis,  74. 

Partridges  eat  ants,  362. 

Patterns,  dorsal,  348. 

Pavesi,  Sig.  Prof.,  291. 


INDEX. 


477 


Peal,  Mr.  S.  E.,  319,  321. 

Peckhain,  Prof.  George  W.  and  Elizabeth  G., 
16,  21,  31,  33,  50,  51,  54,  00,  151,  187,  188, 
189,  198,  199,  201,  295,  299,  301,  304,  305, 
323,  328,  332,  333,  335,  337,  343,  357,  358, 
365,  371,  372,  376,  440,  441,  442. 

Pellisson,  M.,  307. 

Penny,  Rev.  C.  W.,  369. 

Pepsis  formosa,  384,  414. 

Perils  of  spiders,  378. 

Pezomachus,  395,  398. 

Pezomachus  dimidiatus,  396. 

Pezomachus  gracilis,  396. 

Pezomachus  meabilis,  131. 

Phidippus  frenatus,  467. 

Phidippus  galathea,  182. 

Phidippus  jonsonii,  331. 

Phidippus  morsitans,  33,  59,  148, 189, 190,  295, 
335,  350,  351,  397. 

Phidippus  opifex,  149,  150. 

Phidippus  rufus,  33,  59,  167. 

Philanthropy,  spider,  400. 

Philseus  militaris,  31,  32,  53,  57,  332. 

Philodrominse,  147. 

Philodromus  fallax,  370. 

Philodromus  microcephalus,  467. 

Philodromus  mollitor,  151. 

Pholcus  phalangioides,  120,  186,  222,  236. 

Physical  vigor,  63, 

Pigment,  341,  349,  351. 

Pike,  Col.  Nicholas,  397. 

Pinites  succinifer,  462. 

Pirata  piraticus,  198. 

Pittidai,  362. 

Pliny  on  gossamer  showers,  274. 

Poison  of  wasps,  382. 

Pollock,  Frederick,  Esq.,  188,  209,  228. 

Polysphincta  carbonaria,  391. 

Pompilus  annulatus,  445. 

Pompilus  formosus ;  see  Pepsis  formosa. 

Portage  of  cocoon,  119, 120, 153. 

Presbyterian  and  Reformed  Review,  282. 

Prey,  capturing,  70,  286,  368. 

Preyer,  Dr.,  437. 

Priocnemjs  pomilius,  384. 

Proctotn  pids,  397. 

Prosthesima  ecclesiastica ;  see  Herpyllus  ec- 
clesia  jticus. 

Protect]  )n,  192 ;  by  colors,  338 ;  of  female 
duri  ig  courtship,  57. 

Protect- ve  architecture,  402,  409;  forms,  358; 
habits,  378 ;  resemblance,  375. 

Protolycosa  anthrocophila,  450,  454. 

PsalistDps  melanophygia,  140. 

Pseud  diops  opifex,  350. 


Pucetia  aurora,  147,  149,  241. 

Pugnacity  of  males,  32. 

Purseweb  spiders,  356 ;  see  Atypus  abbotii. 

Quails  eat  ants,  302. 
Queen  of  ants,  427. 

Rats  eat  spiders,  380. 

Ray  spider,  288,  460;  see  Theridiosoma  radi- 

osum. 
Rearing  spiders  artificially,  213. 
Red  color  preferred  by  spiders,  344. 
Rennie,  Mr.,  433. 
Resins,  463. 
Retitelarije,  434. 
Rhytidicolus  structor,  139. 
Riley,  Dr.  C.  V.,  362. 
Romer,  Mr.,  453. 
Romanes,  G.  J.,  441,  444. 
Russian  spiders,  289. 

Saitis  pulex,  51,  397. 

Saltigrades,  30,  180,  434,  460 ;  brilliant  eyes  of, 

287 ;  cocoons  of,  148 ;  cocoon  making,  107 ; 

sense  of  smell,  299 ;  sight  of,  295. 
Samland,  402,  463,  469. 
Sanborn,  F.  G.,  154. 
San  Domingo,  142. 
Sauvages,  Abbe,  64,  414. 
Scales  of  colors,  351. 
Scelioftinge,  397. 
Schindler,  Anthon,  307. 
Schiodte,  Mr.  J.  C,  453. 
Scorpions,  315  ;  stridulating,  316. 
Scudder,  Prof  S.  H.,  148, 226,  315, 446, 447,  448, 

450,  452,  455,  457,  458,  459. 
Scytodes  thoracica,  120. 
Season,  influences  of,  209. 
Secretiveness,  355. 
Seebach,  Herr,  458. 
Segestria,  466. 
Segestria  canities,  135, 130. 
Segestria  nana,  407. 
Segmentation,  349. 
Self  protection,  353,  354,  404. 
Senses  of  spiders,  283,  314. 
Sex,  influence  on  color,  328, 332. 
Sexes,  numerical  proportion   of,  09 ;  relative 

size  of,  24. 
Shaler,  Prof,  154. 
Shamming  death,  440. 

Shamrock  spider,  17,  28 ;  see  Epeira  trifolium. 
Sharp,  Dr.  David,  429. 
Sheep  eat  spiders,  380. 
Showers  of  gossamer,  274,  275. 


478 


INDEX. 


Shrilling  of  insects,  314. 

Sight  of  spiders,  accuracy  of,  286 ;  limited, 
295,  296. 

Silk,  spider,  colors  of,  348. 

Silliman,  Prof  Benjamin,  281,  282. 

Simon,  M.  Eugene,  69,  138,  139,  140,  169,  184, 
287,  288,  2V)7,  332,  347,  35<5,  389,  409,  411, 
412,  415,  417,  461. 

Simonella  americana,  357. 

Sites,  cocooning,  75. 

Size,  spiders',  difference  in,  67;  disparity  in, 
62 ;  influencing  development,  66 ;  varia- 
tion in,  26. 

Smell,  organs  of,  300 ;  sense  of,  299. 

Smyth,  Prof  Egbert  C,  280. 

Solitary  habit,  63 ;  wasps,  387. 

Sounds,  effects  of,  on  spiders,  301 ;  uses  of,  314. 

South  American  spiders,  333,  358,  412. 

Sparrows  eat  ants,  362. 

Speckled  Agalena,  see  Agalena  nsevia. 

Spermatozoa,  72. 

Sphecius  speciosus,  383. 

Spheroma,  315. 

Spiderlings,  life  of,  197. 

Spines,  abdominal,  330 ;  protective,  339. 

Spinning,  habit  influencing  courtship,  62 ;  in- 
dustry defective  in  male,  63. 

Skill,  mechanical,  of  spiders,  202,  203,  404. 

Skinner,  Miss  C,  218. 

Staveley,E.  F.,  28,  118,  119,  132,  188,  189,  194, 
347,  399. 

Steatoda  bipunctata,  318. 

Steatoda  borealis,  27, 169, 186  ;  pairing,  44. 

Steatoda  guttata,  317. 

Steatoda  maculata,  120. 

Stothis  astuta,  412,  413. 

Stothis  cenobita,  412,  413. 

Stridulating  apparatus,  316 ;  Mygale,  319. 

Stridulation,  of  spiders,  317,  318 ;  organs  of, 
317,  318 ;  uses  of,  319. 

Structure  and  color,  351. 

Sunbirds,  399. 

Survival  of  the  fittest,  370. 

Swallows  eat  spiders,  379. 

Swedish  spiders,  316. 

SwiftB,  379. 

Swinging  basket,  254,  281. 

Synagales  picata,  33, 189 ;  love  dance,  51. 

Synemosyna  americana,  359. 

Synemosyna  formica,  357,  358. 

Syphax  megacephalus,  467. 

Sytodes  cameratus,  120, 121. 

Tactile  hairs,  310,  313. 

Tailed  spider,  102 ;  see  Cyclosa  caudata. 


Tarantula,  140,  166,  300,  385,  409,  443 ;  age  of, 
429  ;  cocoon  of,  141 ;  striking,  320,  322. 

Tarantula  killer,  384,  385. 

Tarentula  tigrina,  see  Lycosa  tigrina. 

Tatton  Hall,  290. 

Tegenaria  agrestis,  131,  187. 

Tegenaria  civilis,  280,  429. 

Tegenaria  derhamii,  123. 

Tegenaria  domestica,  189,  308,  429. 

Tegenaria  emaciata,  131. 

Tegenaria  guyonii,  16,  47,  74,  202;  courtship 
of,  24. 

Tegenaria  medicinalis,  123,  124,  169,  189,  236, 
330,  334,  337,  347. 

Tegenaria  persica,  123. 

Tents,  cocooning,  86,  87,  294. 

Termeyer,  Raymond,  21,  22,  33,  110,  142,  187. 

Territelariee,  455.;  cocoons  of,  137,  143;  mak- 
ing cocoons,  166. 

Tertiary  spiders,  446 ;  trees,  464. 

Tethneus,  452. 

Tetragnatha,  379;  mimicry  of,  147. 

Tetragnatha  elongata,  365. 

Tetragnatha  extensa,  365,  366,  386,  451 ;  co- 
coon of,  94,  96  ;  pairing  of,  34. 

Tetragnatha  grallator,  365,  451. 

Tetragnatha  tertiaria,  451 . 

Teutana  triangulosa,  377 ;  see  Theridium  ser- 
pentinum. 

Texas,  Gossamer  spider  of,  267. 

Textris  lycosina,  125. 

Theraphosoidfe,  140. 

Theridioids,  colors  of,  324. 

Theridiosoma  gemmosum,  461. 

Theridiosoma  radiosum,  cocoon  of,  461. 

Theridium,  466. 

Theridium  carolinum,  120. 

Theridium  differens,  116,  417. 

Theridium  frondeum,  114,  115,  460-;  cocoon, 
see  Theridiosoma  radiosum,  461. 

Theridium  globosum,  199. 

Theridium  hirtum,  467. 

Theridium  lineatum,  116. 

Theridium  maculatum,  120. 

Theridium  nervosum,  119.  \ 

Theridium  pallens,  116.  ( 

Theridium  riparium,  65. 

Theridium  serpentinum,  see  Teutana  triangu- 
losa, 112,  377. 

Theridium  studiosum,  169,  193. 

Theridium  tepidariorum,  27,  111,  112, 164,  165, 
169,  222,  237,  334,  376,  386,  389,  435.  ^ 

Theridium  varians,  118, 

Theridium  variegatum,  189. 

Theridium  zelotypum,  64,  119. 


INDEX. 


479 


Thomisoids,  364. 

Thomisus  cristatus,  151,  280. 

Thorell,  Prof.  Tamerlan,  147,  272,  452,  453,  457. 

Tibellus  oblongus,  365. 

Tibia,  hairs  on,  313. 

Tiger  spider;  see  Lycosa  tigrina. 

Tigrina,  Lycosa,  408. 

Touch,  sense  of,  200,  285,  303. 

Tower,  trapdoor,  411. 

Townsend,  C'harles  H.,  451. 

Trapdoor  spiders,  (J4,  l(i9,  183,  184,  247,  354, 

355,  35(J,  404,  409,  411,  414,  429  ;  cocoons  of, 

139, 140. 
Treat,  Mrs.  Mary,  91,  107,  108,  180,  187,  188, 

190,  192,  193, 195, 190, 197,  201,  211,  243,  367, 

375,  403,  404,  405,  434. 
Tree,  trapdoor,  356. 
Trees  of  Tertiary,  464. 
Trevelyan,  Sir  C.  E.,  444. 
Trifoliuin,  Epeira,  male  of,  326 ;  varieties  of 

color,  325,  326. 
Trypoxylon  politum,  383,  384. 
Tubercles  of  eyes,  298. 
Tubeweavers,  179;  colors  of,  324;  sexual  size 

in,  67. 
Tuning  fork  experiments,  302. 
Tunnelweavers,  179,  324, 364, 409 ;  industry,  64. 
Turret  spider,  193,  242,  243,  337,  407. 
Turrets  on  eyes,  297. 

Uloborus,  106,  36(5,  376. 
Uloborus  mammeatus,  107,  192. 
Uloborus  pluniiiies,  108,  109,  235,  376. 
Uloborus  riparia,  95. 
Uloborus  walckenaerius,  107. 
Unmodified  industry,  461. 
Upholstering  cocoons,  131. 

Variation,  359. 

Venezuela,  spiders  of,  1 39,  409. 

Vigils,  maternal,  186,  190. 

Vinson,  Dr.,  24,  93,  235,  287,  329. 

Vireo  noveborocensis,  211,  3t)9. 

Virey,  M.,  279. 

Vision  in  spiders,  285,  295,  296. 

Voelker,  Mr.  Carl,  361,  399. 

A'^olcanic  showers,  449. 

Von  Heyden,  C,  452. 

Von  Meyer,  Herr,  457. 

Wafer  trapdoor,  412. 

Wagner,   Mr.  Waldemar,  289,  310,  311,  312, 

313,  314. 
Walckenaer,  Baron,  24,  27,  28,  35,  36,  38, 45, 47, 

95,  131,  132,  142,  188,  189,  230,  246,  249,  307, 

346. 


Walckenaera  acuminata,  121,  297. 

Wallace,  Alfred  Russell,  56,  251,  324,  326,  343, 

363,411. 
Walsh,  Benj.  D.,  384. 
Wanderei-s,  cocoon  site,  179. 
Warning  coloration,  335,  340. 
Wasps,  46() ;  as  mimics,  363 ;  mud  daubs,  338  ; 

mud  nests  of,  130;  solitary,  diggers,  mud 

daubers,  social,  387. 
Water  spider,  young  of,  239;  see  Argyroneta 

aquatica. 
Weather,  404, 

Weaver,  Prof  G.  E.  H.,  428. 
Weaving,  in   darkness,  286;  process  of.  111, 

161,  163. 
Webster,  F.  M.,  128,  129,  397. 
Westring,  Prof.  Nicolas,  189,  315,  316,  317,  319. 
White,  Rev.  Gilbert,  275. 
Wilder,  Prof  Burt  G.,  34,  91, 142, 189,  207,  209, 

210,  212,  285. 
Winds,  Trade,  carrying  spiders,  268. 
Winter,  effects,  213 ;  habits,  430. 
Wisconsin,  spiders  of,  371. 
Wittfleld,  Miss  Anna,  104. 
Wood,  Rev.  J.  H.,  93. 

AVood-Mason,  l*rof.  James,  315,  310,  319,  321. 
Woodpecker,  pileated,  361 . 
Woodward,  Dr.  Henry,  456. 
Wooing  and  mating  habits,  Chajfter  I.,  15,  63. 
Workman,  Mr.  Thomas,  289. 
Wright,  Mr.  W.  G.,  135, 147,  149,  242. 
Wright,  Rev.  A.,  362. 

Xenarchus,  315. 

Xysticus  audax,  151. 

Xysticus  ferox,  33. 

Xysticus  gulosus,  33. 

Xysticus  sabulosis,  370. 

Xysticus  trivittata,  pairing  of,  49. 

Young  spiders,  193,  197,  314,  370,  375,  376;  of 
Agalena,  251,  252;  of  (xasteracantha,  340; 
of  Lycosids,  72,  240 ;  of  Dolomedes,  241 ;  of 
Trapdoor  spiders,  247 ;  ballooning  habit  of, 
25t) ;  development  of  color,  327 ;  feeding  of, 
195 ;  first  movements,  21 7,  218 ;  mimics,  374 ; 
escape  from  cocoon,  211,  214;  no  metamor- 
phosis, 206 ;  sensitive  to  light,  292,  293. 

Zaddach,  Prof.  G.,  463,  464. 

Zilla,  91,  209,  466. 

Zilla  callophila,  39. 

Zilla  gracilis,  fossil,  467. 

Zilla  porrecta,  4(57. 

Zilla  x-notata,  225,  292,  328,  388. 

Zygoballus  bettini,  31. 


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Mrs.  Emma  W.  Bucknell,  Philadelphia. 
John  MacFarlane,  Detroit,  Michigan. 
James  Kelly,  New  York  City. 

Entomological  Society  of  Ontario,  London,  Ontario,  Canada. 

University  of  California,  Berkeley,  California.     (Methodist  Book  Depository,  San  Francisco.) 
Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Co.,  London,  England. 
A.  S.  Bertolet,  Cummings,  Illinois.    (A.  C.  McClurg  &  Co.,  Chicago.) 

^  This  list  includes  all  subscriptions  made  since  November  1st,  1889.  All  before  that 
date  are  published  in  Volume  I.  The  author  wishes  to  print  a  complete  and  corrected  list 
at  the  close  of  Volume  III.,  and  requests  that  any  mistakes  heretofore  made  may  be  com- 
municated to  him.  He  also  requests  all  subscribers  to  send  their  names  and  addresses  in 
full,  with  proper  titles  of  individuals  and  full  names  of  societies,  libraries,  etc. 

*  Presented  by  Mr.  Justus  C.  Strawbridge. 


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3750 


THIS  BOOK  15  PUB  wn    in- 
STAMPED  BELOW 


BOOKS  REQUESTED  BY  ANOTHER  BORROWER 
ARE  SUBJECT  TO  IMMEDIATE  RECALL 


UoD  LIBRARY  f  d  libkh^t 

DUE  OCT  2    1980ili'Nl71983   ^    \ 


DLI 


UCD  LIBRAR* 
SUE  APR  6    1981 

APR  21  19blR[li 

UCD  LIBRARY^ 

DUE  JUN  3  0  19o. 


JAN  4     1985 


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JUL    8  1982  Rf  C' 

^^^^    lilAR     5  1987  WP 
FEB  0  3 
FEB    2l98311tt'0   I 

LIBRARY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  DAVIS 

Book  Slip-Series  458 


mm 

FEB081987 


687716 

McCook,  H.C. 

American  spiders  and 
their  spinning  work. 


QL457. 1 

M3 

V.2 


Ll  BRARY 

UNIVERSITY   OF    CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


1175  00002  36 


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